Sarah vs The Rescue
by MissMonk
Summary: Chuck had been taken into custody and now Sarah and friends must rescue him. But will he be the same chuck after being in the hands of the government for a year? end s2.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you charahkids for being my beta! I have returned

Chapter 1

Present

Taking a deep breath Sarah Walker closed her eyes and cleared her head, emptying it of everything and anything not pertinent to the current mission. Today was an important day .Possibly the most important day of Sarah's life if she was honest with herself. The day they, the people she considered friends, family, and a loose word of co-worker had been planning for the past few months since they found his location. There was no room for screw ups, no take backs, and no second chances. If they didn't succeed this time not only would their target be moved immediately and into a more secure location so far out of their reach Area 51 would look like a cake walk to break into, but they would also be incarcerated for treason or worse, killed.

Sarah couldn't allow that. She wouldn't allow that. Neither option was acceptable and therefore they must succeed at all costs. She had promised his family that she would save him at any cost and she was determined to do so. They didn't ask for any of this to happen to them. They were unwilling participants and all they wanted was their brother back.

It was her fault anyways, even though everyone had told her otherwise. She didn't believe them. If she had spent less time as a girlfriend and more time being an agent she would have been able to see the signs that something was going to happen. That they were going to take him away from her. The near misses and the failed missions were not their faults; she didn't blame herself for those. Fulcrum was just too strong and got too close, becoming too much for Sarah and Casey to protect the asset from them. They should have just stopped the missions, stuck to analysis, but the higher ups insisted the Intersect was more use to them in the field then behind the desk, despite the fact that he wasn't trained to defend himself.

Everything just fell apart so quickly.

The search for Orion, Chuck's father was the catalyst that brought the end. His letting Jill go after not finding his father had pissed off everyone beyond anything else they had done. Sarah thought they had been able to talk the General out of taking Chuck in, that he was just worried about his father but apparently, like everything else during that time, she was wrong.

"Are you ready Walker?" Casey barked beside her. Sarah didn't jump, didn't startle. She was in complete control of herself at that moment, aware of everything around her as she centered herself. All the fear, anxiety, sadness, and pessimism had left her leaving her in complete control of herself. She gave herself one more moment, one more deep breath before lifting her head and opening her eyes to meet Casey's.

"Let's do this. Let's get Chuck."

1 year previous.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Sarah yelled angrily at the screen in front of her. The woman on the other side, General Beckman obviously did not take well to her tone if the expression on her face was any indication. "Where is Chuck?"

"Mr. Bartowski is none of your concern any longer Agent Walker. I suggest that you watch your tone and think very carefully on what you are going to say next." Beckman stated sternly.

She felt Casey place a hand on her shoulder but she just shrugged it off and walked a few feet away, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself. But it was useless. All she felt was panic, anger, and confusion. They mixed up inside her gut and she felt as if she were going to be sick. Her mind raced on Chuck and where he was. Where had they taken him? She hated herself at that second that she wasn't there to stop them from taking him away and they did it right under Casey and her noses.

They took Chuck.

"General, if I may, what happened to change the assets status?" Casey asked behind her, and she held her breath waiting for the reply from Beckman. None came right away; Sarah imagined that she was scrutinizing him on his question. Her mind screamed at Beckman to cut the crap and just tell them what they wanted to know.

"The chiefs believe that the Intersect is no longer safe out in public. His latest act of rebellion of letting Ms. Roberts go was the last straw. He has been taken into protective custody."

"Where was he taken?" Sarah butt in, returning to the front of the screen.

"Again, Walker that is no longer any of your concern."

"What about his family General? His sister is going to notice that he's gone. He has friends and a life here. "She argued.

"A life he unfortunately has to forfeit for the security of our nation Agent Walker." Beckman stated.

"What about Orion, General? Fulcrum still has him. They're using him to build their own intersect. We need Chuck to free him." Sarah argued desperately, hoping Beckman would see that they needed Chuck to complete this mission and bring him back. Bring him back so that Sarah could take him away.

"We have found Orion's current location as Black Rock in Barstow. We are sending drones there as we speak to take care of Fulcrums Intersect."

Sarah gasped in horror at the news, realizing what they were doing. They would be stopping Fulcrum from getting their Intersect by also killing Orion. No one would be able to have one.

"General, Orion is Chuck's father. He's innocent. You can't just leave him to die there." Sarah argued, horrified.

"Stephen Bartowski created a very dangerous weapon. While the American Intelligence community has been benefiting from this weapon for the past year it is too great to allow another one to ever be created. It's better for everyone if Orion was eliminated." With one last glare at Sarah she turned her beady eyes to Casey. "You are to shut down the op. You have one week to tie up any loose ends here and report back to Langley. The two of you." With a final glance she disconnected the call.

Silence descended into the conference room of Castle. Even the sounds of the air unit and soft hums of the computers couldn't be heard of over the loud beating of Sarah's heart and the blood rushing in her ears, muting all sounds around her.

That was it. Chuck was gone. And Orion would be blown up. The one man who could take the damn thing out of Chuck would be gone in less than twenty minutes. She didn't even get to say a goodbye to Chuck. She wasn't prepared for this. She always knew there was a chance that Chuck would be taken away, that the government would finally decide that it was too much risk letting him out in the public and stick him in a bunker, but she always thought she would be part of the extraction team. That they would notify either her or Casey of his change in status and they would be involved.

That way they could stop it.

Instead a team came in after Chuck's shift at the Buy More. A short twenty minute window in-between Chuck and Casey being finished for the day. Chuck wasn't permitted exactly to drive home on his own and Sarah had some things to do in Castle so he was going to work on some dailies while he waited for Casey. That's when they struck. Stopping him in their black van right outside the Orange Orange. Sarah and Casey nowhere near him.

Sarah had been watching the security feed, watching his trek from the Buy More to the yogurt shop, running up the stairs as fast as she couldn't once the van stopped in front of Chuck. She was too late. The van was gone and so was Chuck.

Sarah had called Casey right away in a panic, telling him about the van. They ran the plates and came up with nothing. They followed it through the video cameras on the streets until they came to some downed ones and they lost it. That was when Beckman came in.

"Walker." Casey said softly, breaking through the blood in her ears. She didn't respond, couldn't. She had yet to get feeling left in her body that would allow her the control to do anything other than stand and stare at the blank screen in front of her. "Walker!" He said again a bit loudly.

Sarah shook her head as her breath hitched in her chest. "He's gone."

"Walker."

"We didn't even say goodbye."

"Damn it Walker."

"We weren't prepared for this." She sobbed.

"We knew it would come to this Walker, now get ahold of yourself." Casey barked at her. She turned abruptly to face him, eyes hard as she glared at him. But Casey stood his ground, crossing his arms over his broad chest, tall and straight.

"We weren't prepared for him to just be taken Casey." She stated angrily, smashing her fist onto the table. She felt pain shoot through her hand and wrist but she didn't show it. She embraced it, letting it center her. "We don't know where he is."

"No we don't. But we're spies Walker. Stop thinking like a girlfriend and start thinking like a spy. Use your head." He stated stepping into her personal space. Sarah stared up at him, refusing to back down from whatever game he was playing at the moment. "It was coming, we both saw it. We've had too many failed missions lately."

"It wasn't our fault Casey. We weren't prepared for the scale that Fulcrum is now on."

"It doesn't matter Walker and you know that. All that matters is our success and failures." He argued. "And Bartowski has come close one too many times to being captured. It was inevitable that the government would act. He was become reckless and becoming a danger to himself and to us."

Sarah backed down, taking a step back and turning away from Casey. She didn't like the feeling she had right now. She didn't like feeling this way, out of control. She was borderline obsessive when it came to being in control. Always has been, at least until she met Chuck. Then suddenly everything was out of her hands and into the hands of fate. For the most part she had been alright with that. Everything that happened outside her control all seemed to have some kind of happy ending, or at least positive. Everyone and everything turned out ok. And when it didn't Chuck was there. His everlasting optimism always took away any doubt or fear she had when something didn't go their way. He was there to comfort her or lighten the situation and she was forever grateful for that.

She wondered if she ever told him that.

It didn't matter at the moment. What mattered is that Chuck was gone and she somehow had to get him back.

"What about Orion?" She asked softly, not meeting Casey's eyes. He gave a low grunt and she knew what he was saying. There was nothing they could do for him. He was too far out and they had no contact with him. They would lose him. Stephen Bartowski won't be making up the lost years with his children, explaining why they had to suffer with so much pain. He wouldn't be able to go to his own daughters' wedding, the whole reason he came back into their lives in the first place.

"Oh god, Ellie!" Sarah jolted as she thought of her boyfriends' sister, her friend.

Ignoring Casey's calling Sarah grabbed her keys off the table and ran up the stairs of Castle and out of the Orange Orange to her car that she left out front. Her fingers fumbled clumsily as she tried to get them into the ignition finally giving a loud swear and banging her hand hard on the wheel when they wouldn't cooperate. Every second was important. She had to get to Ellie before the government officials did.

She backed her car out of the spot, jolting slightly as she hit a car that was driving behind her, but not stopping she took off, wheels squealing and rubber burning as she made her way quickly to Casa Bartowski.

She was too late though. As she pulled into Chuck's apartment complex she could see the police cruisers sitting out front and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. It was too late to get to Ellie and Devon first. It never ceased to surprise her that as slow as the government was, it was quick at the same time.

Sarah waited in her car, unable to bring herself to get out quite yet, not with the fake police men in there talking to Ellie. She didn't think she could control herself listening to the lies they would tell to convince Chuck's family that he had died. Her breath was coming out ragged and she found it hard to breath. She would hold her breath in and count to ten but it wasn't working, it wasn't calming her. She wanted to hit something. Preferably anybody in a uniform that was responsible for this whole mess.

Finally the faux police exited the courtyard and entered the cars. Sarah watched them as they idled for a moment, giving them several minutes to get out of the area before exiting her own vehicle and heading towards Chuck's apartment.

A loud scream of pain echoed around the enclosed courtyard stopping her in her feet near the fountain. Her heart jumped, and normally it would cause her to go into action but she knew what it was, who it was. She could hear Ellie crying out angrily out at whoever was in there with her, or perhaps at everybody and nobody at the same time. And she hadn't even been told about her father yet, probably wouldn't. Ellie didn't know that her father was a government scientist on the run and therefore would not be notified of his death.

Sarah collapsed onto the side of the fountain, her legs unable to hold her anymore as the tears begun falling down her cheek, unable to control them anymore. Everything was happening too fast for her and she just wanted everything to slow down so she can figure it out, think about it. To find the best solution that would fix the problem. The sounds of Ellie's grief still echoed around her, compassing her and pressing in onto her until Sarah finally gave in and let the emotions take over her, letting her own grief out.

That night Sarah somehow ended up in Chuck's bedroom, waking up to the smell of his pillow. She had smiled into it, and rolled over expecting him to be there only to have her heart break again as the space next to her was cold and empty. Tears soaked the pillow as she rolled on her back and covered her face with her hands. She could still hear Ellie crying in her own bedroom with Devon's soft deep tones comforting her to no effect. She wished Ellie would just stop as the pain she cried out dug deep into Sarah's own heart, but she wouldn't ever tell her that.

Not able to lie down any longer Sarah finally crawled off the large bed, standing next to it for a few moments before heading towards the door. She paused in the hall, part of her wanting to go to Ellie, to tell her that Chuck was alright they just had to find him but she stopped herself. Telling Ellie at the moment would do no good. Casey and she didn't have a plan, didn't know all the details yet and knowing Ellie she would take her devastation and turn it into anger, and her anger is not something that is helpful at the moment but is very dangerous. For a medical doctor Ellie Bartowski could teach the CIA something in interrogation and torture.

That could blow the whole rescue attempt. The government was still watching, still keeping an eye out making sure everything went according to plan, and as much as Sarah hated making Ellie suffer any longer she knew their best attempt at getting Chuck back was to act normal until they backed off.

Heading to the kitchen to grab something to drink Sarah stopped in her tracks in the darkened hall as she looked up and saw the normally spikey head of one Morgan Grimes sitting on the couch in the dark. She thought for a moment, her body telling her to flee back to the safety of Chuck's room, she hadn't been seen yet and most likely he needed to be alone, like she did, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. It was her fault Chuck's best friend was sitting in the dark in pain. It was her lack of sight that caused all of this.

Walking softly down the few steps from the hall into the living room Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and stepped around the sofa. Morgan didn't acknowledge her presence as she sat in the large comfy chair at the end of the couch, her back to the door and took the moment of to study him. He was wane and looked tired, his eyes heavy lidded, looking drunk, though Sarah couldn't smell any alcohol. The bedding on the couch indicated that he had been invited to stay over as she apparently had; only she hoped he might have been a little more aware of it.

"I hope you don't mind I brought you in." Morgan said interrupting the silence. Sarah moved her eyes to his face, but he was still staring off at a distance. "You were just by the fountain all crumpled in a heap. I couldn't leave you out there."

Sarah closed her eyes as her mind searched for that memory, but finding none she figured she must have blacked out or something. "Thank you Morgan." She offered softly.

"It's no problem. Chuck, Chuck wouldn't want me to just leave you out there. He'd want me to take care of you." A loud sniffle came from Morgan causing Sarah to jump slightly but she didn't say a word. She wasn't sure what to say. She felt she was the cause of this man's pain. "What am I going to do?"

"What do you mean Morgan?"

"I mean Chuck's my best, I mean was my best friend. We did everything together. He knew everything about me, and I him." A sob escaped him and his chest heaved as the tears came again. "He always stood by me no matter what."

Sarah covered her face with her hands again, not able to take watching the little man she had come to respect in some manner break down in front of her. Everything inside of her told her to tell him it's not real. It's all fake. Chuck's alive if not well and she was going to do everything in her power to bring him back. But she couldn't do that. Not yet anyways.

"We had this whole plan you know. We were going to grow old together. We were going to get married, to uh…other people of course. We would have kids, and they would be the best of friends. We'd have family picnics, vacation. Monday night Halo nights. But now, now there's nothing. He's gone. It's over." He cried out. "Now what am I to do? My best friend."

"You live Morgan." She said finally, her hands dropping suddenly from her face. She scooted to the edge of the chair and leaned towards him, waiting for him to finally give her his full attention.

"How?" He cried out softly. "I'm nothing without Chuck. He's the only one who believed in me." Sarah thought for a moment about what she was about to say. It would sound harsh and cold but she hoped it would be a wakeup call for him.

"Do you know what people say about you Morgan?" She asked hoarsely, not waiting for an answer. "They call you a lazy stupid little gnome of a man who couldn't navigate himself out of an empty Buy More if he had extra eyes, a map, and the Marauders Map."

"Way to kick a man when he's down Sarah, nice."

Sarah ignored him, grabbing his hand from his lap and holding it tightly. "But Chuck didn't. Chuck believed in you. I didn't understand it at first but the closer we got the more I got to know you I saw it Morgan. You are an intelligent person. Like Chuck you could do anything with your life if you would just motivate yourself and have confidence in your abilities."

"No, you're wrong. I'm barely good enough for the Buy More. I almost got fired! Remember the sales competition last year?"

"You almost got fired because you didn't put enough effort into it. You went about it the wrong way. You're so used to doing the wrong thing, you sabotage yourself." Sarah paused, let him take it in.

"I just, I don't know Sarah. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think. My best friend is dead."

Sarah swallowed the emotions that were trying to come up. Her eyes stung badly from the tears that were being forced out causing her sinuses to hurt.

"Right now we grieve Morgan." She whispered, squeezing his hand again. "Then we honor his memory and his faith in you." She said, but Morgan still looked distrustful, still wrapped in his grief of his best friend. "I'm going to help you Morgan. You won't be alone. I promise."

The funeral was a very huge affair. Definitely one of the biggest ones Sarah had ever attended. Although, it was to be expected when combined with a wedding.

Sarah finally talked to Ellie the next day, both women's emotions had calmed down enough that they could finally see each other without just breaking down into tears. Though Sarah had been ordered back to Langley she had been able to convince the higher ups to allow her to stay in Burbank a little bit longer, claiming that it would help finish the cover they had with Chuck and leave it without any holes or questions. But in reality, Sarah just couldn't bear to leave Ellie, her first real friend even if Ellie didn't realize just how true that statement was, when she needed her the most. Though Chuck wasn't really dead, Sarah still felt his loss as thought he was.

Ellie had wanted to call off the wedding that was that weekend. Devon supported her and surprisingly so did his parents. Ellie had told Sarah first of the decision after making it with her fiancé, stating that she may need her support once she tells her future in-laws but surprisingly they agreed. But it was Morgan who really stepped up to the plate and wouldn't allow it.

"You can't cancel the wedding. Eleanor Faye Bartowski you are going to get in front of that church with Captain Awesome and you are going to marry him." He had stated once they told everyone. It was decided it would be best to bring everyone most involved, closest to them all and have a light breakfast and announce it. Even Casey was there, though she suspected it was more so he can go around and collect the various bugs they've planted.

Ellie shielded her eyes for a moment, obviously counting to ten. Normally she would just snap at Morgan but Sarah could tell she was trying to be a little bit more sensitive to him. "Morgan, my brother is dead." She said simply, before looking at him.

Morgan grimaced slightly as if he'd been slapped but he held still. Sitting on the coffee table in front of Ellie he tried to reach for her hands, which, to Sarah's surprise she let him take.

"Trust me Ellie; you're the only one who might know that more than me." He told her. "But I know Chuck. You know Chuck, and nothing would make him happier than you getting married."

"I can't Morgan. I can't think of that stuff now. I have a funeral to plan. I have things to cancel, I have-" She stopped as the tears begun pouring down her face one more as the sorrow caught up to her.

"It's no big deal babe. We'll help you." Devon wrapped his arms tightly around her and Ellie buried her face in his firm chest.

Morgan however wouldn't give up. Sarah was about to take Morgan out to the courtyard to talk to him when Casey surprised them all by speaking up and agreeing with him, stopping everyone in their tracks. Obviously not used to the attention Casey seemed less confident than what Sarah was used to, but his voice was firm, and commanding, impressing the importance of what he was saying.

"See Ellie. Casey, the man with three emotions agree." Morgan argued. He was pacing back and forth in front of the TV, nervous energy obviously coursing through him. Casey growled at the comment but didn't say anything else, probably due to realizing that Morgan was right.

And so it was decided that two days later, at 4pm on Saturday, Eleanor Faye Bartowski married Devon Christian Woodcomb. The whole ceremony was beautiful and unusual but it worked out and it was beautiful. Sarah had never been to a combination wedding and funeral and she hoped to never have to go through it again.

The bride and groom both wore black instead of the traditional colors. The flowers of the wedding decorated the church, making the place as cheerful as it should be for a wedding. The guest list tripled as friends of Chuck's were invited and so many people came to pay respects to him in addition to the wedding guests that there was only standing room available in the Church.

After the wedding, and the eulogies there was a private burial ceremony before the reception and wake. Dressed in their finest Ellie, Devon, Sarah, and Morgan drove to the graveyard where Chuck was to be buried and said a prayer and their final goodbyes. Though the casket was empty Sarah felt her heart sink lower into the ground as the empty box was lowered. The only thing keeping her from jumping down into it as well as the knowledge that Chuck was not in there. Chuck was somewhere else, someplace safe at least.

The reception had been moved from its previous location to that of the Buy More. Big Mike closed the store and offered it as a space to accommodate the larger group of people. Stores from the entire plaza donated food and equipment to them for the event. And though the store was not open exactly, Buy More had seen its largest amount of high end items sold that day in the history of the store, as guests and mourners bought merchandise while they celebrated both Chuck's life and his legacy and the beginning of the life his sister was building with the man that she loved.

By the end of the day Sarah was so exhausted she could barely think. Casey took her back to her hotel room, unable to stay another night in Chuck's bed without him there. Still fully dressed Sarah lay on her bed facing the window. It was dark now and there was nothing to see and Sarah felt it was fitting as that was how she felt at the moment.

Ellie and Devon were off to their honeymoon, being convinced to still go and Sarah would be gone tomorrow. She had packed up everything of importance to her already and had it packed into one small bag, the rest of the items in the hotel room would be picked up by the CIA cleaning crew tomorrow.

"What are we going to do Casey?" She asked despondently. She had never felt so emotionally drained in her entire life.

"With the Woodcomb away, now is the perfect time to get out." He responded. Sarah signed and sat leaned up on her elbows to look at him.

"I can't leave yet. I promised Morgan I would help him. And I don't want him to be alone while Ellies gone." She stated.

Casey let out a grunt, taking a drink from the glass of scotch he had poured himself. Sarah knew what he was thinking, but for the first time she didn't care. This is what she wanted to do; this is what she had to do. If she had any hope of freeing Chuck, she knew he would never really forgive her if she left his friends and family in such disarray. In a way, they felt like her friends and family too now.

"I have to report to Langley tomorrow. I'll tell Beckman you are finishing up the rest of the op. It should buy you a few days." He told her. Sarah nodded her thanks and then lay back on the bed again, folding her arms over her stomach. "You have to go back Sarah. You have no chance of finding him if you stay here."

He was right, of course he was right. They needed her resources to find him. The ones from the CIA. They had planned it out the night before. They would both go back to their respective agencies and quietly dig around finding out what they can. It would be hard, and damn near impossible. Sarah was sure that Chuck was so deeply covered that they practically erased his entire existence out.

But she wasn't ready to give up. She didn't think she ever would be. She would go back to the CIA in the next few days, stoic and professional like she always was before this assignment and she would play nice. She would do as she was told and she would be the best, because she was the best. Langston Graham and taught her well and she was going to use every bit of training she had gotten to find Chuck and save him.

She only hoped he knew that.

 **A/N: I'm BACK! As always. RR if you can. Hope your day goes well. Feel free to fb or twitter me. just google 'facebook missmonk928' and you'll find me!**


	2. Chapter 2

I would like to apologize. The last chapter was Betad but I didn't put the changes in. My bad. Charahkids did a good job on it though, as they also did this chapter to.

Personalized thank at the bottom as always.

Chapter 2

Present

They drove in silence from the dingy hotel they were staying at ten miles away from the facility. Each person was lost in their own thoughts, following their own rituals of what they need to do before a mission. Sarah sat up front with Casey, watching the scenery roll by without even seeing anything at all. Not that there was much to see in the pitch blackness of the night in the middle of nowhere. They were driving with no lights on in order to avoid any detection and it was a miracle they hadn't crashed with the new moon that night.

They had decided it was the best time to put the plan into action, when less security would be on duty. It always seemed kind of cliché to Sarah and she had always wondered why nobody had picked up on it, but night time is always the time for any illegal activity to take place. One would think it's best to have extra security at night. The confidence of those in power never ceased to amaze and amuse her.

It didn't matter now. It worked to their advantage at the moment. The plan was simple but the extraction would be anything but. The security surrounding Chuck in the facility was so great that most of the people who worked in the facility weren't even aware there was an extra person. He was so well hidden, such a big deal that Orion had only seen four people on rotating shifts enter the secret location. There was no internet connection into or out of that location, everything was brought in separately or was on an independent system so secure even he couldn't find anything.

If only they had hidden the original Intersect so well, they would never be in this situation. Chuck wouldn't be here. He'd be back in Burbank living his life as pitiful as he always thought it was. But he'd be safe, and he'd have his friends and family. Not locked up behind a hidden wall, his existence all but wiped out. A caged animal at the zoo had more freedom than Chuck did right now. And Sarah couldn't stand the thought of Chuck living in those conditions for much longer.

The thought of Chuck locked up in a tiny room made Sarah's gut turned. Chuck was a social butterfly that thrived off his environment. He loved the sun, he loved the freedom. He loved the open spaces and most of all he loves his home, his friends, his family. Sarah had written a report once they got settled into the operation about how he would fair if taken into custody and her findings were conclusive: Chuck would not fair at all. He would wilt and fall apart, completely shut down if separated from his environment and it was because of the report she believed that they waited so long to take him in.

Sarah only hoped that she wasn't entirely right on it and that Chuck would be in a better state than imagined. She hoped and prayed that he knew that as long as she drew breath she would do everything in her power to save him. However with Chuck's history of abandonment and disappointment, she wasn't sure if he would actually believe it or for how long.

The plan was simple in its complexity. They were to drive up to the side of the fence outside the compound and wait for confirmation from Orion that the cameras were looped and ready to go.

Then they would infiltrate the facility.

It was dangerous and treasonous. But it had to be done. Their only other option was to leave Chuck to whatever fate the government handed him and that was not acceptable.

Turning around in her seat Sarah glanced in the back of the car, seeing her comrades, her partners in this mission. It was an odd assortment of people who would never come together for anything else other than rescuing Chuck. Only Chuck could bring these people together. The only one Sarah trusted completely with this mission, with Chuck was Casey. Theoretically with the planning of Casey, Morgan, Orion and her they could get through the mission with just them but Casey, hating to admit it wanted a couple more people if possible to watch their backs, even if he didn't trust the people who were doing it.

Sitting in the seat behind Casey was Jill Roberts. She hated the woman and would gladly jump at the chance to take the bitch down. But they needed her and therefore she tolerated her presence at the moment.

Sitting right behind her was Bryce Larkin. He was the first to jump to the chance to save Chuck, which she was glad for as he brought the most important person with him, Orion. As much as she blamed herself for what happened to Chuck, she blamed Bryce for even more. He was a lousy friend and did nothing but hurt Chuck. She only hoped that he was capable of helping him in a useful way as good as he was at the other way.

10 months previous.

Sarah gave a loud scream into her pillow in frustration. It's been 2 months since Chuck had been taken and she was no closer to finding him. She had wanted to spend her whole time devoted to his search but she knew that would be impossible. If the NSA or CIA figured out she was looking for her missing asset they would move him further underground if they hadn't already, and then she would never find him.

The plan was for both her and Casey to go back to work in the respective agencies and play nice. To bide their time and build up more sources in order to find him. Sarah vehemently hated the plan, and told him on a regular basis, but she knew that Casey was right.

"Bartowski is secure Walker." He had told her, over and over again whenever they spoke. "Not only from people on the outside trying to harm him, but also from people on the inside. He may not be happy but the government will take care of him."

Sarah would just nod in understanding and close her eyes. He was right. Of course he was. But she felt differently. Chuck was physically safe; she wasn't concerned about that, but what about mentally. Chuck's whole world was his friends and family and being isolated with drones of humans would hurt him.

She just prayed that he held onto hope that she was coming as soon as she could.

It's been a hard two months on her mission wise. The CIA pleased with her actions with the Intersect had given her the best picks of assignments sending her all over the globe on missions. It was every agents dream. But it made her feel empty and hollow. This used to be what she wanted, what she coveted, what she was promised by Graham at the close of the Operation Bartowski, but now that she had it, it all felt like a hollow victory. Nothing meant anything to her. The pride she once had in her job had left her and the only thing on her mind now was Chuck.

A knock on her hotel startled Sarah out of her thoughts and she stopped her screaming, laying silently on the bed waiting. When another knock happened a little louder she grabbed the gun that was on the nightstand next to the bed and slowly got out of bed walking towards the door. She was currently on a mission in Columbia and the only people who knew where she was located were the CIA director and of course Casey. The both of them had dropped all pretense of secrecy and agency rivalry and worked together in everything, no matter what it was.

"Who is it?" She shouted loudly after another knock, every sense throughout her on high alert, ready for anything.

"Sarah, it's me. Please open the door." Bryce's voice sounded. Sarah's posture fell from alert to the exhaustion she felt in a heartbeat and she lowered her gun to her side as she walked towards the door. She paused for a moment to peak through the peephole in the door before unlocking the door and opening it up a lot harder than what was strictly necessary.

Bryce Larkin stood on the other side of the door, leaning casually against the door frame as if he hadn't a care in the world grinning like an idiot. The look had no effect on Sarah, only causing annoyance to course up through her.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at him as Bryce entered the dark hotel room. He didn't bother replying as he walked by the bed and turned on the light. Sarah blinked a few times from the sudden brightness while continuing her glare.

"I'm here to help." He said simply, as if that were to explain it all. Sarah eyed him warily, setting her gun down on the dresser before crossing her arms.

"It's a simple recon mission Bryce. I've done it hundreds of times." She stated glowering at the man before her. He paid her no mind as he shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on a nearby chair before warily plopping down on the bed.

Sarah rolled her eyes at his actions and reached out grabbing the coat from the chair and folding it a little more neatly before placing it back. She was in no mood to deal with Bryce, she never was. Not since she met Chuck, even though he never really said anything horrible about Bryce. Just told the truth of the events and shrugged it off, accepting it.

"I'm not talking about your mission here Sarah. I'm talking about Chuck." He teased.

Sarah's breath hitched at the sound of his name and she had to turn away from him. Chuck was always on her mind, at the forefront no matter what she was doing or who she was talking to, but aside from Casey she never spoke of him out loud, never saying his name. She was never sure if she was under surveillance or not, or who was listening in. She didn't want anyone to know that she hadn't just forgotten about her asset like they believed she did.

"Sarah-"

"How did you find out?" She interrupted, not wanting to hear what he really had to say. She heard him give a tired sigh and she turned back around. His shoulders were slumped and he had run his hand over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. For a second she believed that he was truly remorseful.

"I went to see him. I went to Burbank." He said. Anger shot through her.

"Why did you go there Bryce. What did you do?" She demanded.

"I didn't do anything Sarah. I went to his apartment but he wasn't there and his bedroom looked like it hadn't been used in a while. Casey was gone, you wouldn't respond to any of my messages. I had to find out what was going on."

Sarah scoffed and moved closer to him. "Didn't Beckman tell you? Certainly since his situation was entirely your fault she would love a chance to rub that in."

"She did tell me. She told me that the Intersect had been terminated." He said despondently. Sarah eyed him warily, her heart constricting at hearing it said like that. For all intents and purposes he was. He was dead to the world. "There were a series of documents and videos that were released, in secret that was said to contain the identity of the Intersect. I dug for those, I did everything I could."

Bryce stood up from the bed and walked to the window to look out the dirty dingy glass. Sarah watched his every step, still on alert. One could never be too careful with Bryce Larkin around.

"I was tasked with gathering the intel for them, which I was glad for. I knew I had to get to them before anyone in Fulcrum did to save Chuck's identity." Bryce turned back to Sarah then, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the window. "Imagine my surprise when I finally get them and it turns out its not Chuck's identity but some other agent. An agent that had in fact been terminated and looked remarkably like Chuck."

"What?" She asked confused, her brows narrowed as she listened. That didn't make any sense.

"That's when I went to Beckman and she told me that Chuck was gone and that was it." Bryce scoffed coming closer to Sarah. "That was it Sarah. As if Chuck meant nothing to me."

"Wasn't he?" She bit out, immediately regretting it at seeing the hurt on his face.

Bryce took a step back and looked around for a second before finally settling back on the edge of her bed. "I know I was a crap friend Sarah. But never say he was nothing to me. He was my first friend. He was my only real friend. The only one I would trust with anything and everything."

Sarah flinched slightly at the sting, but didn't react any more. Bryce made his bed and he had to lie in it.

"I tried to find out more, Sarah. That's why I went to Burbank." He stated. "I couldn't risk talking to Ellie, she already thought I was dead and I didn't want to bring up any more pain for her so I went to the Buy More and asked."

Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of the Buy More. She hated the store as much as Chuck loved it. It always amused her to no end. Chuck didn't belong at the Buy More. He belonged somewhere better, and he knew it and he hated his job for the most part. But at the same time he loved it. The Buy More was like his second home and it was filled with all his friends. Even the creepy Jeff and Lester adored Chuck and practically worshiped the ground he walked on.

But they all loved Chuck, they all trusted him. He was their fearless leader to which any one of them could go to if they had a problem and he would make time for them. Seeing their despondent faces on the day of Chucks 'funeral' broke her heart. It just emphasized even more how important Chuck was to the lives of those around him.

"Did you know Morgan's not there anymore? I could have sworn he would be there till the end of time. I asked where he was and they said he got a position as a product tester for new electronics." Bryce stated amazed.

"He's dead." She, whispered, repeating the party line she was instructed. Tears flowed into her eyes, she didn't have to fake them, they were real despite the fact the she knew he was in fact alive. But regardless the mere thought of all that was destroyed brought tears to her eyes.

"Morgan?" He asked confused.

Sarah glared at him and resisted the urge to reach out and slap Bryce for his deliberate stupidity. "No, Chuck. He's dead."

"No, Sarah. I know he's not." Bryce said simply, causing Sarah to shake her head.

"Is this what you came to help with? To bring this all up? We already know all of this." She shouted angrily. She began pacing around the room, turning on the lights as she went around, flooding the darkened room with light and dissipating the darkness.

"No Sarah. I'm here to help you." He placated.

Sarah stopped in front of the window staring out at the city below. It was a beautiful sight and she wished Chuck could see it. "You can't help. There's nothing to help with."

She heard Bryce get up from the bed and step up behind her. She felt the electricity pass between them, the chemistry there always was, but she didn't respond to it. Didn't want it at all. If he touched her, she was sure she'd break his arm. The only person she belongs to now was Chuck, whether he was there to claim her or not.

"He's out there Sarah." He started softly. "And we can get him. We can free him."

She looked at his reflection in the glass curiously. "How can we free him? We don't even know where he is."

She watched as Bryce's frown turned into his normal cheeky grin he had always plastered on his face. He knew something, and Sarah was well aware that if he didn't spit it out in the next ten seconds she would probably end up killing him.

"You know where?" She asked astonished, finally turning around. But to her dismay Bryce shook his head and her heart sank again. She had to resist the urge to punch him in his pretty face.

"Not yet, but I have a source. And they may be the only ones capable of even trying to find him." He said.

Sarah cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. "Who? Who would be willing to risk their lives for someone they don't even know?" She asked simply. Bryce's grin just widened and he held his arms out wide to the side.

"Orion, that's who."

"Not possible." She said simply, slipping around him and plopping down tiredly onto the bed. She wished Bryce would just leave so she could attempt to get some sleep. She knew it wasn't possible, her dreams always flittering back to Chuck, but she just wanted to be left in peace.

"Yes it is Sarah. He's in hiding but I'm in contact with him." Bryce said eagerly.

"Orion is dead. He was bombed in Barstow along with the majority of Fulcrum's Intersect project." She told him tiredly. Bryce pulled a chair up and sat in front of her, leaning towards her.

"That's what everyone thinks and he prefers it that way. I heard that they were keeping the creator of the Intersect at Black Rock, and that they were keeping eyes on his son." Bryce explained. "So I was able to get there and get him out. I knew if the government was aware of the hide out they wouldn't risk an op to rescue him when they could just destroy him as well as a large chunk of enemy agencies."

Sarah swallowed hard looking away. Stephen Bartowski was alive. Orion was alive. Chuck's father was alive. It had been a small blessing to her that Chuck never knew the fate of his father, knowing that he would have taken the news hard. But hearing it now, she knew Chuck would be elated and relieved.

"Does Ellie know?" Sarah asked her mind thinking about her friend. She looked over at her phone that lay on the top of the duvet, thinking about calling her, of telling her the news. But Ellie didn't know still that Sarah was a spy.

"No. It's not safe yet to tell her. Not until we get Chuck." Sarah nodded her head in agreement. That was a good idea. Ellie already didn't have a clue about her father. She could wait a little longer.

"What is the plan then?" Sarah asked softly.

"The plan is you finish this mission and then we start putting together a plan to rescue Chuck." With that Bryce pulled out a phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

Sarah turned the phone over several times in her hand. It felt the same weight as any other cell phone however it looked higher end and less like a plain burn phone. Sarah looked up at Bryce questioningly.

"It's a special phone made by Orion. It's encrypted and untraceable. It's how we'll communicate with you. Keep it on you at all times when possible. Don't let anyone know about it."

Sarah nodded her head, still amazed that Orion was alive. "Casey." She said suddenly, looking up from her phone. "I need one for Casey."

Bryce gave her a sour loook before shaking her head. "Sarah the less people who know about this the better for the op. It's not safe to have too many people involved."

"He's my partner Bryce. I need him on this." She argued.

"He's not your partner Sarah. He's NSA. A killer. I'm your partner."

Sarah glared at him for a moment, not relenting. She would not cut Casey out of Chuck's rescue mission. He may not say it aloud, or even show it at all, but she knew for a fact that Casey cared about Chuck, and that he was worried about him.

"Is Orion's number on here?" She said, swiping the front of the screen and looking at the icons for the address book. Bryce reached out and snatched the phone from her hand, glaring.

"Why is it so important for Casey to be on this? We can do this without him." He stated firmly.

Sarah wouldn't relent on this. And she was sure Orion would agree with her. "We need him Bryce. There aren't many people we can trust with this, but I promise you, John Casey is one of them."

Bryce stared at her for several minutes, Sarah not blinking, not backing down. With an annoyed sigh he handed Sarah back the cell phone and grabbed another one out of his jacket pocket that Sarah had neatly placed. He grabbed another cell phone and practically tossed it at her, a small grin crossing her face.

"So Orion agreed with me before I even knew I'd insist. Interesting isn't it? Interesting isn't it?" She teased.

Bryce gave her a sour look and stood up grabbing his coat, obviously ready to leave now that he's done what he's come to do. "Yes, Orion seems to have some kind of soft spot for you Sarah." He stated putting his coat on. He straightened it, and fixed the cuffs before standing before her, staring once again at her. "Just what was your relationship with Chuck anyways? Orion seems to think it was more than a cover."

It was, but Sarah wouldn't tell Bryce that. Not then at least. Not many people knew that the cover was just a cover for the real thing and she wanted to keep it that way for now. She just shook her head and walked to the door, opening it for him, giving him the obvious hint that she was ready for him to leave.

He followed her, stopping right outside the door for one more gland. "We'll be in touch Sarah. Stay safe." With a final nod and glance at their surroundings Bryce turned and walked down the hall without looking back.

Sarah closed the door quietly, slumping against it, her body feeling as exhausted as her mind. Bryce had only been by for twenty minutes but like everything with Bryce Larkin it felt much longer and more draining.

Standing up straight Sarah went around the room and begun turning the lights, sighing quietly to herself that she has to do an extra thorough clean job on the room in order to erase all traces of Bryce. He always had a way of giving her more work to do.

Finally when all the lights were off but the one by the bed Sarah plopped down heavily on the uncomfortable mattress and looked at the phone next to her. It was a standard smartphone and wouldn't look out of place anywhere.

Turning off the lamp Sarah got under the covers and lay down. She had a few more hours that she could use for sleep before she had to get up and set up the final stages of the mission. She couldn't wait for it to be over, to be out of this hell hole and back into the states. Most of all she couldn't wait to get started on finding Chuck.

A vibration on the blanket caused her eyes to open again moments after finally being able to shut them, and she looked down seeing the special phone. The screen was lit up, a blank picture of the earth splashing light around the darkened room. Picking it up Sarah saw the incoming encryption and cautiously pushed accept.

"Hello?" She said into the device. There was no sound on the other end for a moment.

"Hello Agent Walker." Orion's voice came to her. Sarah felt her body stiffen at it, though she hadn't a clue why. He wasn't an enemy. He was Chuck's father.

"Mr. Bartowski-"

"Orion, please. Call me Orion. We don't know who else is listening." He stated. Sarah pursed her lips and gave a slight nod in understanding, though he couldn't see her.

"Orion. I'm glad you're alive." She told him, meaning it. A light chuckle flittered to her ear and her heart leapt at the familiarity of it.

"I'm glad too. I'm just sorry that you and Chuck were the ones to suffer for it." He said. Sarah remained silent. "I know what you did for Chuck, Sarah. I know what you continue to do."

"It's nothing that he doesn't deserve. Chuck deserves our loyalty and our protection. I'm not about to let him rot in a bunker for the rest of his life." She told him firmly. Again he chuckled.

"Oh come on Sarah. We both know it's more than that. He's more than that to you. I saw the way you looked at my son. The way you protected him from everything and anyone. And of course, the way he treated you. He was more than an asset to you." He said.

Sarah's eyes burnt slightly as prickles of tears tried to escape but she wouldn't allow them. She would be firm and deny them to fall. She's cried enough over losing Chuck, now was the time to be strong and put herself into action.

"He was very special to me." She allowed, swallowing.

"I don't want you to worry Sarah. We'll get him. I had to leave my children for the protection. I'm not going to leave them in the governments hands."

"But what kind of life will he have outside? He'll always be on the run. He'll always be hunted." She said darkly, hating that she had said it. It was something that had been on her mind ever since she and Casey begun planning.

"Sarah, I understand. I do." He told her, but it just made her angry.

"Do you? Do you know anything about your son? About how he lives his life? About who he is? He'll be wanted for the rest of his life; they will never let him go." She didn't know why all this was coming out now, why it was all coming out to Orion and not to Casey or hell even Bryce but right now everything felt like it was building up about to burst.

"You're right Sarah, I don't know my son as well as I'd like. I made a choice, a choice to keep my children safe and the consequence of that choice was a forfeited getting to know my children, watching them grow, watching them evolve."

The tears finally broke through Sarah's eyes, and her breath hitched a few times but she wouldn't make a sound. She couldn't stop the tears but she'd stop sobbing like a wounded child.

"I would like nothing more for Chuck to be able to go home and live his life Sarah." Orion continued. "But we both know that's not possible. Not now. Not ever."

"I know." She whispered into the phone, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "We just have to get him out."

"Yeah. And then we'll worry about the rest. We'll worry about the after."

"Ok." She said, feeling herself settle down. Feeling some relief in the pit of her stomach at finally having those worries off her chest. "I didn't….It was…I'm sorry I unloaded that on you." She apologized.

Orion chuckled again and she swore she could see his smile through the phone. He seemed to be an easy going person for someone who was wanted by the government. "It's ok Sarah. It's something I've thought about too. I'm just glad, I'm glad Chuck has you. If anything else I know he's not alone."

The compliment caused her to smile and she felt lighter than she had for a while. She was glad that Orion had called her, and talked to her. For the first time since this all began she finally felt as though she had a chance to see her Chuck again. And it felt good.

"I'll let you get some sleep Sarah. Finish your mission and we'll be in touch once you're in the states and get the ball rolling on this. Bryce is doing some recon for me while on his CIA missions." Orion informed her. Sarah nodded her head in understanding, laying back down in bed with the phone still pressed to her hear.

"Orion." She said, before he could hang up. "I just want you to know. Chuck. I love him. And I will do anything I can to save him. Remember that."

With that Sarah disconnected the phone and stared at it for a few more moments before setting it on the night stand. She was wide awake now, her mind wheeling and dealing with everything she had learned, everything she would learn. The prospect of saving Chuck. It kept her awake and she wasn't sure if she would ever sleep again until the whole ordeal was over with.

It felt great to get some of that stuff off her mind, stuff that she hadn't been able to say to Casey, though he had to have been thinking the same things as she. He knew Chuck, he watched him almost 24 hours a day for two years. She felt worse about the fact he would probably never see Ellie or Morgan again.

Closing her eyes, Sarah took a few deep breaths and tried to empty her mind. She needed sleep. She was going to finish the current mission tomorrow, no matter what..

 **A/N: So 2nd chapter. Hope you liked it. Feel free to RR. I'm hoping the next one will be out by Saturday so cross your fingers :)**

Here is my thanks:

 **zanex9:** Thank you for reviewing. Hope you enjoy the rest of it.

 **Nomadic Nerd:** Thanks for the welcome! I must admit I did miss it a little. I love writing.

 **charahkids:** Hopefully!

 **Doc in Oz:** Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

 **smokeater159:** Thank you, i hope you enjoy it.

 **wilf21:** thanks! I'm glad that you are reading it. I'm going to go for more drama than angst this time, hopefully.

 **phnxgrl:** I know its been done before but I'm hoping for a new twist.

 **atcDave:** while it can go dark and it will a little bit I'm aiming more for drama than angst so it wont be like...full on torturing poor Chuck as much as I enjoy it.

 **Rob M (Guest):** Because nothing ever goes well for Chuck? lol. And I loves me some Morgan.

 **MrBi11** : Here it is!

 **sevenrez:** It's still a few chapters out! but its coming.

 **wassupchuck:** Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to charahkids for betaing this thing. Personal thanks at the bottom as always.

 **Chapter 3**

Present.

Having Orion on the mission took a lot off of Sarah's mind. It took a lot of the how and where's away and gave positive results and solutions. She was able to concentrate more on keeping her cover as a CIA agent, something that sometimes amused her and less on the details of the rescue mission.

Casey was less reluctant to just accept everything. He didn't out right say it but she was pretty sure that he was glad to hear that Orion was alive and was currently on the case but he was hesitant to get involved in anything involving Bryce Larkin. Sarah couldn't blame him, and she felt the same. But this was their best chance so they went along with it.

However Chuck was never really far from her mind, always in the forefront no matter where she was or what she was doing. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Couldn't stop wondering how he was doing. If he was alright or if he was happy.

It really was no surprise to Sarah when after four months she was pulled into the Directors office and put on leave. Though it broke her heart to leave the job that she had been on since she was 17, it had lost all appeal to her. It had taken away the most important person to her without any word or closure. She was angry, hurt, and upset. She felt betrayed by the agency that had made her who she was, and she was ready to turn her back on them.

It was only a matter of time till she got wounded in the line of duty. One mishap, one stray thought and she was injured during a mission. Though if she was honest with herself, she almost wished that the wounds had been worse than they had been. It was the first time she thought that perhaps death was a good solution.

7 Months Previous.

Sarah stared straight ahead as she walked down the halls of the CIA building, ignoring all the looks she was garnering from those around her. She knew what they were staring at, what they were saying. The great Sarah Walker, CIA spy extraordinaire was about to be fired from the CIA.

She knew it was coming, she had seen the signs. She knew that her performance had been slipping more and more since she left Burbank and with the last mission the previous month landing her in the hospital for a week with several injuries, including a bullet wound and other lacerations, it was only a matter of time until she was called in for a review.

Suffice to say she at least learned that the doctors were correct in saying that she'd heal better and faster if she just rested, as that was all she could do after that. All she could muster the strength for. She had barely stepped outside her apartment for the past three weeks after being discharged from the hospital. Choosing instead to lie in bed and live in her memories. She was content to stay that way until the end of her days when she got the phone call from the Directors office that her presence was requested.

So there she was the next day, dressed in her finest and heading up to the top floor to the Directors office for what she was sure was the last time, barely a limp in her step even though her thigh still burned from where the bullet hit her. She may be going out but she was going out with her head held high.

She stepped off the elevator into the open floor with a single secretary directly in front of her. Approaching the desk she didn't even have to say a word to the woman as she was informed the Director was waiting. With a curt nod Sarah headed to the right where the Directors office was.

Sarah stepped in front of the big doors to the office and paused for a second, taking a few deep breaths to calm her beating heart. She opened the door quickly and firmly, with the confidence of many years of experience of dealing with people in high places.

She stopped in her place just in the opening at seeing Director Johnson sitting at the conference table in his office next to General Beckman. It took all her willpower and years of training to school her face into calm cool expression of indifference at seeing the tiny woman who was responsible for everything.

"Agent Walker." The woman greeted with a slight nod of her head. "Please, come in. Shut the door." Sarah turned and closed the door quietly before walking to the table and standing next to Director Johnson.

"Please have a seat Agent." He said, indicating the seat across from them. He offered her something to drink which she turned down, her gut already rumbling with both anger and anxiety at the moment. She knew why she was called to the director's office but it didn't bode well that Beckman was here.

"What is this about Director?" She asked pointedly, wanting to get to the chase. The Director sat back in his chair, glancing at the General who gave a nod and then began.

"Agent Walker, it's come to our attention the past few months that you are not operating at your best." The General started. "Your record is impeccable but since your assignment in Burbank your quality of work has gone significantly downhill."

Sarah didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. They were right, she knew it, they knew. There was no point in denying it or defending herself. The work speaks for itself. But still, she wasn't quite pleased with it being brought out in the open like this.

"With your latest injury and your month off for rehabilitation, it's been decided that it's time to take you out of the field."

Sarah nodded and sat up a bit straighter and leaned slightly forward. "With all due respect General, I don't understand how this concerns you." She stated.

"Agent Walker-"

"It's alright Andrew." The General spoke up. The two eyed each other for a moment in some form of secret communication before the Director nodded his accent and sat back in his chair. "You are right Agent Walker. You are not NSA. However you were a large part of a previous project that was NSA and therefore it is my right to be here as that assignment is currently still affecting you and your performance."

"What does that assignment have to do with what's happening now." Sarah inquired curiously.

The General eyed her for a moment before sitting back slightly. "Because that is when your performance began to decline." She said simply. Sarah didn't know what to say, and just nodded her understanding. "I'm well aware that you were compromised during the mission, and I wish I had caught it earlier and stopped it before it got too far. But the fact is we didn't and it's over and you need to move on."

"I can't." she admitted hopelessly, hating herself for sounding so weak, but it was already out there and there was no point in denying it any more. She didn't want to deny it.

"There is nothing you can do for the asset any longer Agent Walker. He is safe where he is." The words hit Sarah like ice cold water and she felt herself shiver at them. It was the same thing that secretly ran over and over in the back of her mind but she refused to admit to or listen to it. She refused to give into the voice. But hearing the words aloud was a bit too much for her and she couldn't respond.

"I understand." She quietly answered.

The rest of the meeting went by quickly, with the Director going over her severance package. They were to pay her out on her contract and give her recommendations and anything needed in order for her to find work outside the agency. Sarah listened quietly not saying another word, just nodding when appropriate.

Finally the meeting was over and she stood up and walked towards the door, but before she exited she turned back towards the two at the table, staring hard at General Beckman in particular. She bit her lower lip nervously for a moment debating on if she should ask but she was desperate for any news at all.

"Is he at least happy?" She asked. She didn't need to say who; they all knew whom she was referring to.

The General met her gaze but didn't answer. Sarah didn't expect her to. But in that look, she knew with all of her being that no matter what, they had to get Chuck back. All doubt flew through her mind.

With a final nod Sarah opened the door and exited the office of the Director for the last time. She wasn't sad about being kicked out of the Agency, not at all. If anything she felt relieved. Relieved she didn't have to play the part any longer, that she didn't have to divide her attentions. Now she can focus on what is most important to her.

The Agents she passed in the hall gave her a wide berth, obviously knowing that she was no longer one of them but Sarah didn't care. She strode towards the exit of the building with her head held high and her dignity fully intact.

As she left the building for the last time she smiled up at the sun, enjoying the feeling of its warmth on her face. The pressure lifted from her shoulders. She mentally made a list of what she wanted to do, what needed to be done, feeling hope flutter through her.

The bliss she was feeling was broken by the sound of her phone ringing from her purse. Lowering her face back to the pavement, everything seeming dull and unfocused after staring into the sun, she frowned as she grabbed her phone, noting that it was in fact the phone Bryce had given her, and not her normal one.

Glancing around her location before answering is Sarah begun walking towards her car, not wanting to stay stationary in front of an intelligence building when taking an encrypted call.

"Hello?" She asked in a hushed voice as to not be overheard.

"Sarah, I'm sorry to hear about your job." Orion's voice came in over the receiver. Sarah gave a small smile, knowing that was as sorry as she was that she had been fired.

"Thank you." She said, careful not to say his name. "What's going on?" Sarah had reached her car and pressed the button to unlock it, getting into it quickly.

"Press the FM/AM button on your radio before you drive away." He instructed.

Sarah did as she was told and then put her car into drive, exiting the parking lot of the CIA. She drove down the road for a few minutes until the silence begun to get to her. "What was that for?" She asked.

"It's to disable any tracking or listening devices." He explained simply. Sarah rolled her eyes at his paranoia, even though it was valid. It was the government after all and considering what she knew she wouldn't put it past them to bug her car and follow her around.

"I'm on my way home to pack. I have some back up id's and documents there hidden away." She told him.

"Good. Don't use them." He said. Sarah pulled the phone away from her ear looking it balking.

"Excuse me?" She asked confused.

"We can't take the risk that anybody in the CIA knows anything about them. Even if you are completely sure of your source it's just safer not to use them."

"Ok, what should I use then?" She asked confused still.

"Don't worry about it Sarah. There are some documents waiting for you at your apartment. Use those. Included is a plane ticket to Burbank."

Sarah pulled into her spot in her apartment complex not a moment too soon as her heart beat erratically at the thought of going to Burbank. She wasn't ready to go there. She couldn't go there.

"Uh, why do I need to go to Burbank?" She asked Orion, trying to keep her voice steady. She heard him sigh on the other end and she knew whatever the reason was he wasn't too happy about it.

"I need you to go talk to Ellie."

Sarah's heart completely stopped at those words. No way. There was no way she would go talk to her. What would she say? Sarah had taken off immediately after the Chuck's funeral, and though she communicated occasionally through email to Ellie and Morgan there hadn't been much contact at all. For all they knew she fell off the face of the planet, and she had wanted it to stay that way. She couldn't go back to them, not until she knew Chuck was safe.

"I…I can't." She stumbled.

"Yes you can, Sarah. I need you to." He insisted.

"And say what exactly? I haven't talked to her in five months." Sarah protested, slamming the back of her head against the back of her seat.

"I need you to tell her what happened." He said. "It's time she knew the truth."

If she wasn't stunned before she was definitely stunned now. "Why? Why now." Irritated at having to be asked to do this task.

"She needs to know. Because she deserves to know the truth about her brother Sarah." He told her

Sarah closed her eyes, counting to ten in her head. "And why can't you talk to your daughter? She believes that you just ran out on her, again, right before her wedding. Right before she had to bury her brother."

"Exactly Sarah, that's exactly why. She needs to hear it from someone she trusts, from someone who she doesn't just think of as a flake and a crazy one at that." He argued and Sarah hated that he was right. Even with him there Sarah remembered how tense Ellie had been even in her happiness of him finally coming back. She knew Ellie wouldn't believe him.

"Alright, I'll do it. What do you want me to tell her?" Sarah asked reluctantly.

"That truth Sarah. And a choice I wish she never would have to make."

Sarah's stomach fluttered as she sipped from the glass of water that was placed before her. She hated that she was asked to do this and she hated that she felt this way. Once upon a time before everything went to hell Ellie was what she considered her first and only real friend. Even though she had to lie to her about who she truly was Ellie was the first person Sarah made a conscious effort to be as honest as possible with. And now she was going to have to tell her all about her lying and what she did to Chuck.

Ellie had been excited on the phone the other day when Sarah had called her out of the blue stating that she was going to be in town for a few days. She didn't even have to do anything, Ellie already made arrangements to meet up and spend some time together. All Sarah had to do was show up.

It was a quiet café out of the way that Sarah had found during her time in Burbank. She liked it because it was innocuous and had amazing food. On top of that she was pretty sure that she wouldn't be followed or recognized aside from the owners who had seen her multiple times of course.

"Oh my god! Sarah!" Ellies voice screeched and Sarah immediately turned towards the door. There stood Eleanor Woodcomb, still in scrubs and longer hair but still looking amazing. Ellie quickly closed the distance between then and wrapped her arms tightly around Sarah. Sarah automatically returned the hug, surprised but how much she enjoyed it and missed it, missed Ellie.

"Ellie, I'm so happy you could meet me on such short notice." Sarah said reluctantly releasing Ellie. They sat down in the chairs at the table in the corner. The waiter came by and took the meal orders quickly before leaving the two girls to themselves.

They spent the time waiting for the meals catching up on what had been happening, most of the talking being done by Ellie. Sarah was pleased that Morgan was doing so well in the job she had set him up with. He had moved out of his mother's house, has a girlfriend, and even his own car now. Devon and Ellie still lived in the same apartment complex as they did before. With Ellie not able to move yet even though they could afford a house now with both of them being full-fledged doctors on top of a life insurance policy on Chuck that Ellie had no idea about.

Sarah suspected it was a payout from the CIA or NSA. Or based off the amount Ellie gave, probably both.

Their meals came in short order and Sarah decided it was best to broach the topic she had been sent to speak to Ellie about. Pressing a button on a device in her purse effectively disabling all bugs that may be around them, Sarah scooted closer to her friend to begin her tale.

"Ellie, there actually is a reason I needed to talk to you." Sarah started, moving some lettuce around her plate with her fork.

"What is it Sarah? You know you can tell me anything." Ellie replied concerned. It took Sarah a few false starts before she could get the story out, Ellie immediately dropping her fork and listening to Sarah with rapt attention.

When Sarah was done she sat back from Ellie, letting the woman process what she had been told. She hadn't said a single word the entire time, her brows narrowed and her eyes wide. Sarah wasn't sure if Ellie believed her or not and was afraid either way of what her friend thought.

"Chuck's alive." Ellie muttered amazed, more to herself then to Sarah. Sarah nodded her head confirming her stated.

"Yes, he is. We don't know where he is right now but we're going to find him. We're going to get him back." Sarah stated vehemently.

"And then what?" Ellies asked her, narrowing her brows further. "He can't come back here Sarah. If he's being held by the government they're going to want him back."

"I know."

"He'll never be safe. Never be free." Ellie covered her face with her hands while Sarah sat silently. There was nothing she could say to counter what Ellie was saying. It was the same things she had thought and spat at Orion herself months before.

"I know it all sounds, confusing Ellie, but we are doing everything we can to get to Chuck." She said determined. "And…he won't be alone Ellie."

The other woman lowered her hands then and stared at Sarah curiously. "How do you mean?" She asked simply. Sarah swallowed and leaned forward in her chair, making sure that the words she was saying would imprint into Ellie.

"I mean he won't be alone Ellie. I will be with Chuck. Always and forever no matter what. He will always have me." She stated unblinkingly.

"You'd give up everything to be with my brother? You'll be on the run too Sarah. This Intersect thing, it doesn't sound safe. It doesn't sound like they'd let it go without a fight, and they'd destroy anything that would get in their way."

"Then they destroy me Ellie, with Chuck."

Ellie pushed her plate away and stood up from the table throwing a few bills down and walked out. Sarah watched her for a moment before moving into action, doing the same and following her.

"Ellie wait!" She shouted after her friend, walking quickly to catch up to her. Ellie didn't slow down or stop and continued walking forward. Sarah wasn't sure where she was going and was becoming concerned as she kept an eye out on their surroundings.

A few blocks later they came up to Ellies car. She went around to the driver's side and roughly pulled the door opened. "Get in." She shouted at Sarah as she got into the driver's seat. Still confused but obeying Ellie Sarah got into the car, barely in the seat before Ellie jerked the car into traffic.

"Where are we going?" Sarah asked putting her seatbelt on. Ellie didn't reply, just gave Sarah a glance before turning back to the road.

They drove for over half an hour before Sarah finally recognized where they were heading. They were going to the cemetery where Chuck was buried, or supposedly since he was not really in there. They pulled into the lot and Sarah had to move quickly to follow her friend up the hill and a few rows over to a large tree.

They slowed, and then came to a stop in front of a gravestone that Sarah refused to read. She looked anywhere but at the headstone. She looked at the large tree that's branches were hanging over the plot causing a shade for those who come to visit. It was kind of cliché but it was perfect for Chuck as he adored the cliché.

However she couldn't avoid it forever, especially as Ellie sat down gingerly on the ground, easily like a pro, obviously having done it many times before and Sarah was forced to do so as well. Once she was settled she could no longer avoid it any longer.

Starting at the grass that was beneath her and stretched out in front of her, she noted how it was a beautiful lush green, obviously taken care of. Flowers were at the head, planted not placed like a miniature garden was planted in an array of colors. And then she moved her eyes upward, finally read the words on the granite stone that lay in front of her.

Charles Irving Bartowski.  
Loving Brother, Caring Friend,  
Fellow Nerd

Sarah let out a soft laugh at the last line. The stone hadn't been ready at the time of the burial and though she had received pictures in her email, she hadn't been able to bring herself to look at them.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sarah asked after several moments of silence. She saw Ellie sigh in her peripheral.

"I like to come here and think sometimes." She said. "I talk to him, tell him my problems, reminisce on the past. Hearing that he's alive now..."

"Ellie-"

"Who is in the grave Sarah? If it's not my brother, who have I been spilling all my secrets too?" Ellie asked. Sarah didn't know the answer to that. They know there was a body in there, burnt to a crisp, probably some poor John Doe that the NSA had placed in the role of Chuck Bartowski.

"I don't know Ellie." She told her honestly. There was no point in lying or hiding anything now.

"How are you going to get Chuck? You said 'we'. Who is the 'we' in this operation?" She asked intelligently. A lie was just on the tip of Sarah's tongue, after years of doing it, of all the training and experience, hiding the truth was engrained in her. But giving herself a little headshake she leaned forward on her knees and was prepared to tell Ellie anything she wanted to know.

"Well, me, of course, Casey, Bryce-"

"I still can't believe Bryce Larkin is still alive, fucking bastard-"

"And your father." Sarah finished.

"My father? How…"

"Your father isn't the crazy man you think he is. Well, he is kind of crazy in my opinion but he's a genius Ellie. He created the Intersect." Sarah told her. Ellies mouth was agape at the news, quickly turning from Sarah to stare at Chuck's headstone.

"He created it? This computer that got stuck in Chuck's brain? HE did this to Chuck?" She said angrily.

"No, no Ellie, nothing like that. He created the program but once he saw what they planned on doing with it he walked away from it." Sarah told her. "That's probably the time that he had to leave you Ellie. This program is extremely dangerous. They wouldn't have hesitated to use you or Chuck to get him to cooperate."

"But he left us. Without any word without warning. We didn't even know that he was thinking about leaving. We were abandoned, unwanted." Ellie sniffed a few times as tears fell down her cheek. Sarah knew it was painful for her. Chuck had told Sarah over and over how important Ellie was to him, how grateful he had her and how much she sacrificed to help him.

"What would you do Ellie? The choice he made to participate in something that killed people or walk away from his family so they live. It's not an easy choice. Was it the right choice? I don't know. I don't think so personally but I'm not him. We all make bad choices. And your father was in a lose-lose situation." Sarah explained softly as Ellie nodded her understanding.

"We just, after mom left. Dad was so distracted by his work. He was physically there but he wasn't really, you know there. I didn't realize what he had riding on his shoulders." Ellie stated sadly.

"He loves you two Ellie. I have no doubt about it." She knew that with complete certainty.

After spending the last couple months speaking to him, getting to know him during their mission to save Chuck she had learned a lot about Stephen Bartowski. Most specifically that he loved his kids above anything else. She knew it was his biggest regret not being there for them when they were growing up. To not be there for them when they needed him the most. He had told her that he always provided for them as best he could without drawing any attention to himself, such as paying for their colleges by making it look like scholarships. Paying most of the rent at their apartment so it seemed they pay less. Things like that. But as someone who had an absentee father herself, she knew well that while those things helped, it was nothing in comparison to having him around.

"I know." Ellie stated simply, giving one last long sniff before turning her head back to Sarah. "So what do we do now?"

"Now, we go after Chuck." She said simply. It sounded so simple coming out but the task was next to impossible.

Ellie nodded her head, thinking for a second. "And how can I help." She asked.

Sarah held her breath. She knew that Ellie would ask this and this was the part she hated even more. It was never easy of anyone to discuss but it had to be done. Orion was right; it was her right to choose.

"Ellie, it's going to be hard, but you have to make a choice." Sarah started. "If you choose to stay out of it we will do everything we can to keep you in the loop and once Chuck's out, we'll try everything to keep you two in touch."

Ellie shook her head and Sarah's gut twisted. "That's not enough Sarah. I need to be more involved. I'm not going to just abandon my brother. The only thing that will separate us is death. And he's not dead. I will never give up on him."

"Ellie you have a life, you have a husband, a career. If you're involved you'll have to give all that up. What we're doing, just talking about it is considered treason." Sarah explained, hoping the importance of what she was saying was being conveyed properly to Ellie. But Ellie just nodded.

"I understand. And I'm willing to give it up for Chuck."

"What about Devon? Are you going to give him up too? You love him. He's your husband." Sarah exclaimed.

"I know that Sarah. He'll come with me. He loves me Sarah." Ellie stated unwavering. "He loves me like you love Chuck"

Sarah couldn't argue with that. How could she. She loved Chuck so much she was risking her life and freedom to rescue him. It sounds incredulous that that someone would give up everything for another person but Sarah was living in that situation right now.

"And you're sure you can trust him?" She asked, unnecessarily so. He was called Captain Awesome for a reason. And he already knew Chuck's secret of being a spy.

"I trust him with my life Sarah. He's the one. He's my other half." Ellie said.

And so it was decided that simply that Ellie would join the strange assembly of people out for one purpose. They discussed briefly the next steps in the operation. Sarah handed Ellie a secure phone built by Orion and hashed out the plans. Ellie and Devon were to take a short sabbatical from the hospital and participate in something such as Doctors without Borders. Due to them having to give up their freedom and lives to save Chuck Orion would pose an accident of some kind that will have an unfortunate end of the Woodcombs.

As they headed back to the car, Sarah feeling lighter yet slightly guilty about what she talked her friend into but glad to know that Chuck will have his sister back, Ellie stopped mind step.

"There's just one more thing." Ellie said, turning to Sarah. But her expression Sarah wasn't sure if she was going to like this.

"What is it Ellie?" She asked hesitantly. Ellie bit her lip, a nervous habit Sarah shared with her.

"You're not going to like it but, we have to bring Morgan." She said.

 **A/N: So I know I said saturday, but I wont have time. And i'm way excited over zachary levi yesterday. He is just so awesome and diffrent in Heroes Reborn. Plus I got 2 tweets from The Nerd Machine so I'm excited about that.**

 **Oh, and as a side note I haven't done any writing this week. Bad missy bad *smacks***

 **zanex9:** Celebrate with some Cake! perfect ending yeah?

 **Nomadic Nerd:** I know it hurts Sarah to hear that from Bryce but I really do see Bryce believing that his only real friend would be Chuck. With Sarah, she's a spy, and though he obviously likes her, he can't trust her. I thought about bringing in some others but I'm just afraid of having too big a cast to juggle with.

 **phnxgrl:** Well they need all the help they can get.

 **atcDave:** Thank you! and I'm never excited about them too but they were logical choices.

 **sevenrez:** Don't be nervous. I will never let Jill or Bryce hurt them.

 **wilf21:** Only time will tell *plays x-files theme*

 **fezzywhigg:** I totally love your name. There is always a happy ending if one only knows where to look...though i don't have ending yet. I hope you do continue to enjoy reading it though.

 **supesfan18:** Aww, thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy this one too.

 **Grayroc:** Thank you for your kind words! they make me feel warm and fuzzy.

 **Rob M (Guest):** I agree with you, I really believe that Jill loved Chuck back in Stanford, and still had feelings for him when she came back. But she was just too deep in whatever she was doing to really do anything. Her loss, Sarah's win. And I never want to make Bryce out to be a punching bag. I genuinely believe he's a douche bag but I truly believe that he had the best intentions for Chuck. He thought more about saving him and less about what it would mean in the end and that's why his actions look so bad. But I still hate him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Yet another chapter. I really need to get writing on this...thanks to Charakids for pre-reading and fixing the mistakes. Personal thanks at the bottom as always.**

Chapter 4

Present

"Almost there. ETA is 10 minutes." Casey's voice gruffly informed her and the other passengers. They were getting closer to the facility where they were holding Chuck. Closer to the end that would either be their failure or success. Sarah's heart beat wildly in anticipation as they drove closer to their destination, but the rest of her was calm and ready. She swore that she could feel Chuck's presence as they drove closer but she shook her head off as it being ridiculous.

"Don't worry Sarah. We'll get him out. I won't leave without him." Jill's voice said from the back seat. Sarah fought the urge to turn and glower at her, maybe give her a good slap or at least the finger for good measure. She didn't want her there at all but they needed all the help they could get, and finding people to trust with something so sensitive that had experience was damn near impossible. Instead she took solace in Casey's hard grip on the wheel when Jill spoke. At least Sarah wasn't the only one who didn't want Jill there. She was a traitor after all to her country and to Chuck.

But then again, wasn't that what all of them were doing right now? Betraying their country? In her mind she didn't think so, didn't really feel as if it was treason. She wasn't betraying her country to any enemy that would like to see the country she fought so long to fall. She wasn't trying to over throw the government. She loved America, and all it stood for. The good things and all the bad as well. But being caught rescuing a high level government asset from the hands of said government was considered a treasonous act, even if their motives were purely for the safely of said asset who's rights as American citizen were blatantly being violated.

No she didn't like being lumped in the same title as Jill. But they needed her.

5 months previous

"No Bryce, absolutely not." Sarah said angrily walking away from him. She heard Bryce's frustrated sigh but ignored him as she walked out onto the porch of the house.

She leaned against the railing and looked out over the horizon. She both liked and hated this place. She was brought here a month ago by Bryce and Orion as the base of operations after she had retrieved Ellie, Devon and Morgan. It was out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by huge thick trees that effectively hid them from anything and everything with no road up to the cabin. Sarah loved the peacefulness of it but she was afraid of the isolation. It was quiet and allowed her mind to wonder off more and think, something she wasn't so inclined to want to do much of lately. She was used to being cut off from the world in a metaphorical sense but not in such a physical sense and it unnerved her at times.

"Sarah, please listen." Bryce begged coming up behind her as she continued staring off into the forest. When she gave no indication of listening he stepped up beside her a few feet away. "We need everyone we can on this if we are going to succeed."

"Jill, Bryce? We need Jill Roberts to help get Chuck out? In case you forgot she's a traitor to the US. She's a fugitive. She's a liar, a cheat. And on top of that she used Chuck, and broke his heart, not once but twice."

"I know Sarah. Believe me, I know. I was part of it remember?" Bryce shouted at her frustrated.

"We don't need her Bryce. We have Devon, Ellie and Morgan. We have enough people. We don't need the traitor's help."

Bryce gave a bark of laugher at her comment before his smile faded away to a grimace. "Please tell me you're joking Sarah. They aren't operatives. They don't know anything about infiltration of secure facilities. They can't go with us when the time comes."

"You don't get to decide who does what here. This isn't your operation." She huffed.

"It's not yours either Sarah. Its Orion's and he agreed to allow Jill to join."

Not wanting to deal with him any further Sarah turned walked down the stairs to the forest floor and headed down the path to the right. She walked this path frequently since she arrived; loving the solitude it offered her from the rest of the occupants. It was darkened as the thick trees blocked out the sun with small patches escaping through here and there lighting where she walked. She imagined bringing Chuck here one day after they saved him. Walking down the same path, letting him wonder and enjoy the fresh air and feel the breeze on his skin, hear the sounds of the forest as it lives.

Her breath hitched and she held it in as she stumbled down a small hill as the path turned slightly left. She didn't like to think of Chuck all cooped up underground. Chuck thrived on sunlight, on freedom. As much of a nerd that he was, staying in all the time playing video games, he always had the windows open, would even strangely hook up the system outside in the courtyard to play, a trick he'd been doing since he was a child and Ellie yelled at him to go out and play or get out of her way so she could clean. But she knew where he was now; he was surrounded by concrete and probably hadn't seen the sun since he was taken.

The breath she was holding in was let go slowly as she turned another bend heading towards the opening in the trees. Beyond them lay a large lake that glimmered like diamonds as the sun hit it. It was a beautiful site and it never failed to take her breath away whenever she saw it. Sarah had spent most of the month sitting on the log next to the water when she wasn't with Orion and Bryce implementing a plan. Sometimes Ellie would join her and they would talk about her time in the CIA with Chuck. It was hard on Sarah to open up about it, being trained to keep everything secret. However when you're planning a treasonous act with someone, there really isn't any point in keeping any secrets.

Plus seeing the pride on Ellies face made all her fears and discomfort disintegrate. Finally Ellie was seeing the Chuck that Sarah had seen, the Chuck she had known. The Chuck Ellie believed he could be but couldn't see until now, and it warmed Sarah's heart to see that pride radiate from Ellie.

Approaching said log, Sarah stared out on the horizon of the water for a moment, unable to see anything before sitting on it and raising her face up to meet the warm sun. It felt good on her skin and a smile crossed her face. It felt strange to her; smiling, she hadn't done much of that lately. Her mind had always been too occupied with other things to find the small delights in the world to smile at. Until Chuck was free, she didn't think there was much to be happy about.

"Sarah?" A soft voice called nearby, startling her. Sarah stood up quickly drawing her gun out from her waistband and pointed it in the direction of the voice.

Behind her stood Jill Roberts, the last person she wanted to see. The woman stood several feet away with her hands up and a sad frown on her face. Sarah took the moment to look her over, noticing the skinnier angles of her body, the gauntness of her face, the shortness of her hair. She looked horrible. Being on the run had not been good on Jill, and secretly Sarah was pleased at that. But the thought of Chuck stopped the satisfied smirk from crossing her face, knowing that despite what Jill had done to him, to Sarah, and to their country, his heart would still bleed at seeing her in such a state.

"Sarah, please. I'm not going to hurt you." She said softy. Sarah scoffed at that thought. The bony woman before her could barely stand.

"You stay away from me Jill." She told her, but Jill took a step forward, than another until she was in front of the log Sarah had just vacated and sat down.

"I know you don't like me Sarah-"

"You're a traitor!"

"I know! God I know." She covered her eyes with her hands for a moment as Sarah watched warily. "I know what I've done. I'm not proud of it. I hate myself every day for it. I'm not here to ask for forgiveness. I'm just here to help."

"I don't need your help Jill. We can do this just fine without you." Sarah told her finally lowering her weapon, but not easing up on it. Jill looked up at her again with a sad smile.

"No, you need my help. You just don't want it. And I understand Sarah. I hurt Chuck. The man with the biggest heart, who forgave me for what happened at Stanford and I broke his heart again. I get it Sarah." She said sadly. Jill turned to stare out onto the water, giving Sarah a chance to really get a look at her. "Life on the run has been very hard for me. Having no one to help, not being able to trust anyone. Always having to look over my shoulder for any signs of danger."

"You escaped Jill." Sarah's sardonic reply hung between them for several moments. Though the truth was Chuck let her go, Sarah would never blame him. Chuck was wrong in his actions but Jill should have made the right choice and turned herself in.

"I did and it was a mistake. I am guilty Sarah, make no mistake about that. I'm not making any excuses for it. I just want to help Chuck. I was a prisoner for months after being caught, and he doesn't deserve that Sarah. This is our faults. Bryce's, mine. Yours and Casey's. We have to save him."

Sarah wasn't sure how to respond to her little declaration and instead stood there glowering at her for several more minutes. But she was tired and wary and her body couldn't keep it up any longer and she felt herself loosen and fall to the ground on her knees. Bending forward she touched her forehead to ground below trying to calm herself down, trying to get her head to clear. She needed to be clear to do this.

Sitting up she looked around herself for a moment before turning back to Jill. "And what about after we rescue him? What will you do then?" Sarah asked her.

Jill didn't seem to have an answer for her as she shrugged her thin shoulders. "I don't know Sarah. At this point I'm just living my life one day at a time. It's all I can do."

Giving one last harrowing look, she nodded her head. Sarah would accept Jill's help on this because she was right, they were all right. This was their faults, all of them and they would need every able body to get him out.

However accepting Jill's help didn't mean he had to stay her company, and with that Sarah picked herself up off the dirty bank of the lake and turned back towards the path that would lead her back to the cabin without a backwards glance.

She walked at a brisker pace than before, not sure why as the other person she had no desire to see was back at the cabin but Sarah wasn't sure what to do or where to go. She had been there for almost a month and felt like they were nowhere nearer and the frustration were beginning to get to her.

Stopping on the path Sarah stood still with her eyes closed and muscles tight and tense. Her gut swirled and hurt and she felt like she was going to vomit if she held herself in any tighter but any more leeway and she was afraid she would do something stupid like punch a tree or shoot herself. She wanted to do anything to feel pain and release all the tension that coursed through her nonstop.

"Sarah?" A voice said ahead of her, but she ignored it, keeping her eyes shut. "Are you ok? What happened?" The voice said concerned.

Opening her eyes a sliver she saw Morgan standing before, a concerned look on his face as he stood in front of her. She opened her eyes all the way and released her body from its stoic position. "Hey Morgan."

"Are you alright Sarah? You kinda looked, well…" He asked her taking a step further. She wasn't sure what to say. Her training told her to play it cool, come up with some story that would make her sound nonchalant but she couldn't think of anything. If she was honest with herself she was tired of always hiding.

"No." She said simply before she felt her face crumble and the tears begin to flow. Her chest hitched as she tried to gather breath but the sobs wrecking her body was making it hard to breath. She felt Morgan wrap his arms around her tightly, holding her to him as she cried. It felt good and warm to be held like that and didn't make a move to push him away or release herself from his hold. He rubbed her back soothingly while mumbling soft calming words into her ear.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there, she didn't care, and she just wanted to stay like that until Chuck was finally safely back where he belonged, with her. Too soon however Morgan broke the embrace, still keeping his hands on her shoulders and he pulled back slightly to look at her. They shared a slight awkward laugh for a second before Morgan placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I know just want you need girl." He told her. She looked down at him curiously, feeling as if she should feel slightly concerned by the huge grin that was plastered on his face.

Without further ado, Morgan released her shoulders and reached down and grabbed her hand. She wasn't big on the hand holding but he seemed really excited about wherever he was taking her so she allowed it. Morgan took them back down the path towards the lake and Sarah was concerned that they were heading back towards the lake but then Morgan veered off the path to the left and led her into the dark thick woods.

She followed on his heels, looking around, marking in her mind where they were going so that they could get back. She doubted that Morgan had any tracking experience and would most likely get them lost. They walked for about twenty minutes until finally Morgan brushed through some tree branches into a small clearing and stopped.

For a second Sarah had a horrid thought that it would be some kind of horrible twilight experience with a field of random flowers and a glittering boy but was relieved to see an ordinary clearing. There were branches everywhere and while it was brighter in that spot due to the clearing it was still dark and overcast as the surrounding trees loomed about.

Sarah walked further in, the crunching of pinecones and needles beneath her feet combined with dead leaves and whatever else normally lay upon the deserted floor of the forest. There in the middle was a tree whose bark looked shabby and split and a long branch in front of it that was cleared of its own debris.

Morgan walked passed her and picked up the branch holding it like a bat and swinging a few times. Sarah took a few steps away from him to avoid getting hit, not trusting Morgan with any sort of weapon in his hands. She eyed him warily until he stopped and then smiled a huge grin and handed the branch out to her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"You swing it, like this." He showed her again, swinging wildly.

"Yeah I got that part Morgan, but what's the point?" She asked him. Morgan scoffed at her and pointed the branch at the tree.

"You hit the tree with the branch. It releases tension. It calms the soul." He explained.

Sarah raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. "And how is beating up a poor defenseless tree going to calm my soul?" She asked using her fingers in quotations.

Walking closer to Sarah Morgan gave her a saddened look. She hated it, hated pity and she was regretting crying in front of Morgan now that she saw the pity directly in his eyes. Crossing her arms over her chest Sarah glowered at him and took a step back as he crossed her personal bubble.

"You need to hit something Sarah, release the tension. Violence isn't always the answer but there's nothing wrong with letting off a little steam every now and then especially if nothing gets hurt." He pointed out.

Again Sarah quirked her brow and looked at the tree that was behind him. "I'm sure that tree will disagree." She told him.

Apparently losing his patience's, something Sarah had never seen before Morgan placed his hand on her shoulder and begun pushing her towards the large tree, stopping her a few feet away. He shoved the branch into her hand and walked off to the side out of her way, which considering she wanted to smack him with is was probably a good idea.

That's when it kind of hit her that that was the point Morgan was trying to make. She always found Morgan slightly irritating, especially when it came to Chuck's attention. He was creepy and obsessive, and she actually wondered at times if he wasn't actually all the way there, but she never had any violent thoughts about him before. Jeff and Lester yes, definitely, on a daily basis sometimes multiple times. But she had never wanted to hit Morgan. He was Chuck's best friend and Chuck loved him, and anything or anyone Chuck loved, she couldn't help but love too.

With that she gave a glance at Morgan before lifting the branch and swinging it at the tree. It hit softly, a few flakes of bark flying out and falling to the ground below.

"Again Sarah, hit it a little harder." Morgan cheered from the side.

Sarah swung the branch again harder, feeling it vibrate up her arms and down her body as it impacted the tree. Without a beat she swung it again, and again, squinting her eyes as bark began to fly out towards her at alarming speed as she continued to pound on the tree.

"Pretend it's Jeff and he just said something disturbing. Or that they just said something in general." Morgan shouted at her.

The tree transformed into Jeff's drunken face and she hit it with a little more vigor before it morphed into Lester's. A few hits later it was Bryce and she pounded the tree so hard she felt her shoulder pop only to have it transform into Jill.

One by one Morgan shouted out names and her mind would transform the tree into whatever he said. She felt the sweat begin to form on her body as her muscles began to ache at the use. If this was the previous year this would be nothing to her, but the damaged done during her last mission and her time here where she spent more time sleeping and being alone then exercising had made her body weaker, and right now it burned.

It felt great. She missed this and as she swung at the tree she decided that she would get back into shape, that she would use this physical movement to keep her grounded, keep her focused and not to bottle things up.

"You're doing great Sarah." Morgan said and a huge grin crossed her face. "Now it's Chuck, Sarah. Let him have it." Sarah stopped suddenly, stumbling backwards as her momentum stopped. Her breath rose and fell as she breathed heavily and her arms ached as sweat begun to fall into her eyes. She looked over at Morgan, who just stared back, face emotionless. "You can do it Sarah." He said, but she shook her head.

"No, I can't. Not Chuck." She argued between breaths.

"Yes you can Sarah. Chuck is the tree. He hurt you. He left you." Morgan shouted. Sarah shook her head, closing her eyes from the vision that came to her.

"He didn't have a choice. It wasn't his fault." She said.

"It doesn't matter that it's his fault or not Sarah. What matters is it happened. And now you're hurting." He told her. "Let him know how much."

"No. I can't. Not to Chuck." She cried out.

"So you're going to let it go?" He demanded. "Just going to pretend like his being taken doesn't hurt you? Are you just going to let it fester?"

"He wouldn't have left me if it was his choice Morgan." She shouted angrily at him. "I know he would have stayed. He wouldn't have left me behind."

"But he did, didn't he? And now you're alone and you're hurt."

That was the last straw as Sarah raised the branch and swung it at the tree. It was Morgan's face there, his shouting at her, his attempted manipulation to take out her frustrations out on Chuck. She swung hard and fast not stopping, even as Morgan's appearance slowly morphed into Chuck. She kept seeing his sad smile at her, the soft brown of his eyes with flecks of green. His curly hair with their funny animal shapes that was eternally messy yet looked good no matter what.

She swung and swung as the tears poured down her face unchecked. She didn't care. Her chest ached and her heart felt like it was going to pop from pain but she continued to hit the poor tree with Chuck's features until finally she hadn't any strength left and she stopped, stumbling back against a few steps before dropping the branch. She stood there for a second staring at nothing in particular until finally she collapsed herself, the tears still rolling down her face soaking everything they touched.

She heard Morgan's quiet footsteps crunch the leaves and he approached her. He didn't touch her to which she was grateful, not sure if she would be able to hold herself back and not pummel him into the ground for the way he tortured her. But he sat on the ground in front of her; legs crossed and leaned his elbows on his knees waiting for her.

Finally she was able to get control of herself and used the front of her shirt to wipe away some of the tears, dirt, and sweat that was covering her face. Sarah felt disgusting and she a long hot shower following a very long sleep sounded like perfect heaven to her at the moment. She wanted silence and she wanted to be alone.

She looked up at Morgan who was watching her with his blue eyes wide. It made her slightly uncomfortable but somehow she knew it wasn't done on purpose, it was just the way he looked when he analyzed things. They sat in silence for several more moments until it became too much for her and Sarah had to break it.

"It's not his fault Morgan." She repeated voice quiet and broken from the crying and apparently screaming she had been doing.

Morgan nodded his head in agreement. "Of course it's not his fault Sarah. But that doesn't mean you can't be mad at him, or that you aren't hurt by it." He argued. Sarah shook her head, confused by all this. It was starting to get to her and she felt more tired.

"How can I be mad at him then? It makes no sense." She told him.

"Pain doesn't make sense Sarah. Not always. But you've been holding Chuck up on this pedestal and, quite frankly aside from the creepy factor it's really not healthy." He laughed lightly at his little joke, but Sarah couldn't see the humor in it. "Chuck's not innocent in this Sarah. Yes his being taken wasn't his fault but he was party to everything prior to that, which leads up to this result."

"Morgan…"

"It's true Sarah. He lied to his family, willingly. And you can't say it wasn't his choice." Morgan stated, effectively cutting off whatever Sarah was going to say. "If I've learned anything from Chuck, and trust me, I've learned a lot from that man, it's that we always have a choice. No matter the circumstances, or the obstacles, we always have a choice. He got sucked into something dangerous and I know my friend, he would have done everything and anything to help you guys in whatever you needed. Therefore he's not innocent in this."

Sarah didn't know what to say. Morgan was right even though she wanted to deny it. She wanted to absolve Chuck of any wrong doings and take the blame entirely onto herself.

"That doesn't mean I had to imagine beating him to a pulp." She said somewhat lightly, and Morgan returned her smile.

"Well, better to do it now than when we have him. With you letting go of your anger about it all now, before he gets here you can spend more time resolving whatever is going to be wrong with Chuck."

Sarah frowned at that comment, wondering if perhaps he knew something that she didn't. Morgan seemed to have read her mind and shook his head in answer to the question she didn't answer.

"I just know my friend, Sarah. And while I don't know my government as well as you do I have watched a lot of movies in my short time here on this fair planet, and if there's one constant theme in them all, it that the worst thing normally happens."

"It must be hard to think of stuff that way all the time Morgan. I thought you were an upbeat kind of person." She stated curiously. Morgan nodded.

"Indeed I am fair lady and that is why."

They sat in quiet again, just enjoying each other's company in the empty clearing. There was a slight cool breeze coming in through the trees that felt great on Sarah's skin and the birds chirping and the crunching of the land as wildlife went about its business reminded her that no matter what's going on with her, life is going on all the time.

"I know you're not asking me, or needing me to say this but I want you to know Sarah, that I trust you. And if anyone can bring back my friend I know it's you." Morgan stated firmly.

Sarah felt her cheeks flush at the praise, having to turn away from his piercing gaze. "And how do you know you can? I lied about who I was to you since we met." She asked him.

Morgan nodded his agreement and brought his knees up slightly, wrapping his arms around them. "Casey trusts you." He stated.

Sarah was confused. "What does Casey have to do with it?" She asked him.

Morgan gave a smirk and a bark of a laugh. "Have you seen the guy? I mean, did I know he was an NSA assassin? Not officially. We at the Buy More may be low on the intelligence spectrum but even we could see he was more than what he was that there was more to his tale."

"What? You mean you didn't buy his cover as a Buy More green shirt?" she teased. The fact that anyone did would be more of amazement.

"Hell no we didn't. Or at least I didn't. He worked too hard. Even Chuck was a slacker next to him. Casey doesn't have a lot of patience, and he doesn't trust many people. But he respects you. Respects your opinion, respects your skill. And if someone as hard core as Casey trusts you, then I do too." Morgan said, nodding his head.

"Well what about Chuck? He trusts me. Doesn't his word count for something?"

Sarah laughed out loud at the face that Morgan made at that. "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't trust anyone Chuck trusts with a ten foot pole." He said. "I mean, case in point, Bryce Larkin. And in case you need a 2nd which you really don't after Bryce Larkin, may I say Jill Roberts. How bad of judgement do you have to have to pick a best friend and a girlfriend that would betray you the way they did."

"Chuck said that Jill didn't sleep with Bryce. She was hooked up to the polygraph machine." Sarah stated, hating that she was helping out Jill on this. But as a female, she knew what it was like to have a reputation. Morgan shook his head.

"She's an evil agent Sarah. Come on, you can't tell me that you can probably beat a polygraph?" He said skeptically, eyebrow. For some reason she didn't ever think of that. Everything had happened so fast with Jill. She was there one second and gone the next.

"How did you find this place anyway?" Sarah finally asked, curiously looking around. It was a really nice secluded place. "And more importantly, how did you get back?"

Morgan snorted and stood up, holding his hand out to her to help her up. "I'll have you know while I'm a very indoors kind of guy; I have spent my whole life playing video games."

"That's exactly my point Morgan." Sarah laughed taking his hand. He pulled her up with a stumble and a grunt.

"Yes but you get used to navigating around all kinds of terrains. I can find just about anything and get out of anything without using a map." Morgan said proudly. With that he proceeded to walk out of the clearing with Sarah following behind him, only to stop him a few feet later.

"Thank you Morgan." She said simply, before walking past him.

 **A/N: My brain is rotting and I have nothing witty to say. Please RR.**

 **zanex9:** Death can bring the most unusual people together.

 **phnxgrl:** I'm glad you liked it.

 **Nomadic Nerd:** oh ho ho. That's a lot of theories you have goin on there. Guess you'll just have to wait like the rest of us to see which theory pans out yeah?

 **atcDave** : Aren't we all puppets at some time. it wasn't my intention to make her like one but it would make sense that she would seem that way at this stage.

 **wilf21:** I like to never discount or underestimate Morgan. What he lacks in finesse and intelligence he certainly makes up for in loyalty and integrity. I loves me some Morgan Grimes.

 **sevenrez:** Well I had to figure out how to get Ellie involved and this was it. I'm glad you're enjoying it still.

 **fezzywhigg:** Oh hell no. She would do anything for her brother, and he for her. Wish I liked my siblings enough to do that...actually that's a lie, i don't wish that...:)

 **Rob M (Guest):** I'm glad you liked the Sarah/Ellie scene. Sometimes I feel i make things too dramatic. I agree with the Sarah/Beckman thing but I wanted Sarah to take the high road. It would have felt good and been warranted but sadly sometimes you have to play the adult.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to charahkids for being my beta. Thanks at the bottom as always.

Chapter 5

Present

They pulled up to a secluded area near the gate of the compound. It was pitch black out and with a new moon that night it was the perfect time to do this. They sat in the car for several minutes waiting for Orion's signal that it was alright to proceed, each tense in anticipation for what was about to happen.

Sarah was a tight coil about to explode any second if she didn't do something and soon. The only sounds in the car were of their breathing as they looked around all angles of the car making sure the perimeter was secure.

Finally it came, a chirp from each of their special burn phones that was built by Orion himself indicated the cameras were on loops and they were free to proceed. Each person got out of the vehicle, quietly shutting the doors behind them, all strapped with weapons and other things they would need in order to get in and out of the facility.

Casey was first as he reached the gate and begun to use special plyers to cut through the currently turned off electrical wire. He rolled it back slightly to allow the others to sneak in. One by one they entered the small gap and then began creeping up to the facility.

2 months previous.

"You're sure that Bartowski is here?" Casey grunted looking at the screen in front of them.

The group of rogue agents, temporary or otherwise was gathered in the dining room area of the cabin that made up the home base for the op. It was an odd assortment of characters with Cold blooded killer NSA Agent Casey, currently supposedly on a mission in Iran. Bryce Larkin CIA currently meant to be in Seattle, WA infiltrating a Fulcrum cell. Jill Roberts, US fugitive, Doctors Ellie and Devon Woodcomb, civilian doctors and one Morgan Grimes, geek extraordinaire.

All in all it was a very eclectic group, people who wouldn't normally come together for any other reason other than to implement a rouge operation to break into a secure government facility to retrieve a high level asset.

"It's the most logical place Major. Unfortunately there is no way to confirm beforehand whether he is being kept at this location or not but it's the best guess." Orion told them. It didn't exactly endow much confidence. But they had been searching for almost a year and this seemed like the most likely location.

"We can't just go on best guesses Orion. We only have one chance at this. If we fail there is no going back." Bryce stated.

"How did you narrow it down to this location?" Jill stepped in. Sarah tossed a slight glare at her, still not trusting her before turning her eyes back to Orion.

"I narrowed it down. With all the data you guys have collected over the year I was able to access the schematics and then the video feeds for every facility location that you have provided and determined that Chuck is not at any of those locations. However I did find that Lazlo guy you mentioned. They have him deep in a mountain in Wyoming, poor guy."

"Poor guy tried to blow up an entire pier of innocent people on Halloween after duping your son. I don't feel sorry for the guy, he's a domestic terrorist." Casey growled out.

"He what? When? How was Chuck involved?" Ellie asked alarmed at hearing about this.

"While I agree with your assessment Casey you can't not feel anything for the guy." Sarah argued, though why she was defending a guy that convinced Chuck to lie and hide from her she had no idea.

"I sure can. I don't feel anything for terrorist." He growled as if the notion was none negotiable.

Sarah just shook her head. He hated Lazlo but now with her experience with Chuck she now had a better understanding of what it must be like for the assets. She of course had other assets but they had meant nothing but means to an end to her in the past. Now she saw what they go through. The lying, the danger, the manipulation of it all. She was pretty sure at one point Laszlo Mahnovski was just a genius child, who was probably lonely and friendless due to his mind. She had seen it many times before. The government would have swooped in, offered the parents a too good to be true deal that effectively sells the kid to the government to be used and manipulated how they saw fit for the rest of their lives.

She remembered Chuck's saddened expression as he explained to her afterword's what had happened. Even if the almost died at the hands of the man, Chuck's heart couldn't bear to think negatively about him, and to feel sorry for him for all that he's lost. She hoped Chuck wont turned out that way.

"I've had this location in Virginia in mind for a while now and have been keeping an eye on it, but I didn't really think it would result in anything as it's too close to the capital. Placing him so close like that would be a shortsighted decision considering how important he is, but it would also be a good one too as most people wouldn't think they'd actually place him there. However after I got into their network, the schematics of the facility seemed a bit off so doing some more digging and watching countless hours of surveillance video, you're welcome by the way, and I've deducted there is a secret area on the 14th floor off to the side." Orion stated pointing on the screen where he was indicating the location to be.

"That would make sense. Chuck basically has every secret of the United States government. They wouldn't want to put him in someplace where anyone would actually be able to find him. What better place than right under everyone's nose so to speak?" Bryce stated, studying the schematics on the screen.

Ellie stood up and approached her father. "But if you found him dad, doesn't that mean other people could find him too?"

"That would be unlikely Eleanor. In order to find him they would have to be up to my par in computer technologies. And as arrogant as it may sound, I highly doubt there is anyone in my caliber." He placated. It placated Sarah as well as she thought of that too but were afraid to voice it. She didn't want to say or do anything that could jinx this mission.

"As it was it took me months to get into the security at this location which makes me both relieved and fearful of this operation." He said.

Sarah was afraid to ask but she did. "What do you mean?"

"Well, relieved that nobody else could have found him, but that means he's under extremely heavy guard. The video, if there is any is on a closed circuit that is within the building itself on its own with no internet access, so I can't even get any visual confirmation he's there. Getting to him will be next to impossible."

"How would they get the data to him if there's no internet access? Wouldn't the higher ups want to see him?" Jill asked.

"As far as I've seen, there are four guards who know about this area. They come in shifts. Every morning one of them is carrying a large briefcase. I suspect that whatever intel they want from the Intersect is in that and they give it to him. They even bring the food in so the kitchens probably don't even know Chuck's there." Orion explained.

Sarah closed her eyes and tilted her head back for a second. "Which means he's practically in solitary confinement." She stated. She doubted that the four agents watching Chuck were spending much time socializing with him. Other assets in bunkers at least had the benefit of interacting with each other at least a little bit of the time. They were able to get at least a little bit of human contact.

"So basically this could just be a giant waste of time that could get us all caught, killed and imprisoned leaving Chuck in the governments hands for the rest of his life." Casey summed up easily.

Silence descended the room as each of those there thought about those words. It was hard to accept them. They knew it would be hard to accomplish but hearing it in words and some sort of confirmation made it seem even more difficult and real than before. They only had one shot at this, and if they screwed up, Chuck will be gone out of their reach forever.

"Let's go then." Morgan's voice broke through the silence. Everyone looked at him curiously except Casey and Bryce who had annoyed expressions on. Neither of them could ever figure out why Chuck and Morgan were such good friends, but it didn't matter why. They were best friends no matter what.

"Morgan, did you not hear what my father said?" Ellie asked somberly, sitting back in the chair she had recently vacated. Morgan nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yes, he said impossible. Or as Chuck would say 'I'm Possible'. So let's go"

"I hate to agree with the little man here but he's right. Chuck always said that." Bryce said with a smile. "Remember Jill?" She nodded her own head and let out a laugh.

"I swear it was the only thing that got him through biology." She laughed. Sarah glowered at the two of them as they bantered for a moment about college with Chuck. She didn't think they should be on that topic considering what the two of them did to him.

"So we're in agreement then? We'll go after Chuck?" Orion inquired, finally sitting down himself. They spent the next few moments looking at each other before all nodding in agreement.

With that decided Sarah got up from the table and headed up the stairs to the room she was currently staying in, the room that she hoped she would be sharing with Chuck soon. Entering the room she closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, taking solace in the momentary reprieve and the silence. It was all coming to a close soon and she could almost taste the victory.

A heavy knock vibrated against her back as Ellie's voice called out to her from the other side. Giving a silent groan Sarah stood up and opened it slightly to look at the brunette woman on the other side.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned coming into the room. Sarah closed the door behind her and followed Ellie into the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just kind of tired." She admitted. "I was thinking of taking a nap maybe."

Ellie nodded knowingly but instead of taking the hint and leaving she sat on the end of the bed, crossing her legs and placing her hands around them.

"You've been tired a lot lately. Do you want to talk about it?" Ellie offered sincerely. Sarah shook her head; she's spent way too much time talking lately. She wasn't sure if it was the atmosphere she was currently in, or that she was no longer part of the CIA and therefore didn't have to hide every little thing anymore.

She could even tell them her real name if she so chose.

Sighing to herself Sarah sat in a chair that was by the window. It was one of her favorite spots to be alone. She would sit in that chair and read a book or just plain day dream for hours on end.

"Nothings really wrong Ellie, except for the obvious of course." She insisted. Ellie nodded her head, watching Sarah. She felt a shudder go through her, feeling as though Ellie could see right through her and tell that she was lying. Well, maybe not lying but definitely not telling the whole truth. It was the same look that Chuck would give her, but unlike Chuck, she knew Ellie would not back down so easily.

"You're concerned about this 'op' aren't you?" Ellie asked.

"Aren't you concerned?" Sarah replied. "You gave up everything Ellie. To everyone who knew you think you're dead. As far as the world is concerned, Eleanor Bartowski Woodcomb no longer exists." She knew she hit a spot when Ellie turned her gaze from Sarah. "If this doesn't work, you would have given up everything for nothing."

"That's not true." Ellie stated fiercely, standing up. "Because I still have a chance to get to know my father, and I finally get to learn the truth on what's been happening to my brother."

Sarah laughed slightly, not quite sure why as nothing was really funny. "This is worth it to you? You lose everything just to know the truth. Your brother is as good as dead if we fail this mission. You'll never see him again!"

Sarah heard the slap across her face before she felt it, her head turning quickly to the side by the force. She knew she could have stopped it if she had wanted to but she let Ellie hit her, take her frustrations out on Sarah, and Sarah needed to have someone mad at her. Everyone had been all kind and sweet about the whole situation to her and she wasn't sure how much longer she could take it. The outing with Morgan had helped, and continues to help let out her own aggravation, but she didn't need everyone walking on egg shells around her. Even Casey didn't blame her.

Turning her head back to face Ellie, who looked horrified that she had hit Sarah, she gave a slight smile to the woman. She wasn't sure why she was baiting Ellie in particular at this moment as the woman just came up to make sure Sarah was ok. Maybe it was as simple as Ellie was there and therefore was the chosen one to be poked and prodded into anger.

"Oh god, Sarah. I'm so sorry." Ellie stated alarmed as she dropped to her knees in front of Sarah and placed her hands on her neck to view what damage there might be. Sarah wasn't concerned, the slap was barely a love pat compared to what she's gotten before but she let Ellie comfort her, seeing her need to be a doctor for a moment.

"It's alright Ellie. It didn't hurt, I swear." She said, looking the woman in her eyes. Ellie's thumb drew lazy circles on her cheek for a second before she released Sarah and sat back on her haunches.

"There's a red mark there Sarah. I'm sorry. I've never slapped anyone before." She said. "Aside from Morgan of course."

"I deserved it Ellie. To be honest, I was baiting you. I don't know why." She confessed. Ellie gave her that lopsided half smile that Chuck would give her and Sarah's heart constricted painfully. She looked away from Ellie, not able to bear seeing it.

"I know you're concerned about Chuck. But I'm concerned about you at the moment." Ellie told her.

"I'm fine Ellie. You see? Just a little redness, it'll be gone before I'm finished with my nap." She insisted. But Ellie shook her head, leaning on Sarah slightly in order to push herself up.

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it Sarah." She said, sitting back on Sarah's bed. "You've been walking around here in some kind of daze, your sole focus being on this mission. When you're not involved in the planning you're a million miles away on your own. I'm really concerned about you Sarah."

Sarah gave a light laugh and as huge a grin as her tired body could muster. "Ellie, you worry too much, and I love you for it but really, I'm fine." She insisted further, but Ellie didn't seem to be buying it as she sat and analyzed Sarah for a few minutes.

Standing, Ellie held out her hand for Sarah who looked at it curiously for a moment before taking it. Standing up she eyed Ellie curiously, not sure what she was doing.

"Come with me, I think I know something that will help you feel better." Ellie told her with a smile. Without further ado Ellie lead Sarah out of her bedroom and down the stairs, past the dining room that now only had Orion and Morgan. They waved at the two of them passing them by as Ellie guided her down another hallway that was barely used.

It amazed Sarah the size of the house, wondering yet again how Orion was able to get the place built. There was no way he could have done it himself, the size of it alone with all its technology would have taken an entire crew several weeks. However she never asked and it seems unimportant so she didn't bother.

They stopped in front of a wooden door, Ellie having a huge smile on her face as if expecting Sarah to know what was behind it. The door was innocuous; there was no discerning characteristic of it. Just a plain albeit nice wooden door.

"What's in there?" Sarah finally asked, her curiosity growing. With a final grin Ellie reached for the plain door handle and opened the door, pushing it open all the way and stepping to the side to allow Sarah to enter.

Light shown through the windows, brightening the room as Sarah took a step in, only to have the air knocked out of her lungs at the sight before her. Tears crept behind her eyes, burning them as they tried to escape, but as Sarah covered her mouth with her hand she had to close them to stop the pain for a moment before reopening them, discovering that her vision wasn't an illusion.

It was Chuck's bedroom, exactly how he had left it. Everything was there from his bed, to his comics, his full length mirror she loved to use when getting dressed at his house to his beloved Tron poster. Everything was there and from what she could see nothing was missing. She stepped a little more into the room, feeling the familiarity of it as who ever had set it up set it exactly as it was before. From the inside of the room, Sarah couldn't even tell that they were in a cabin and not in the apartment in Echo Park.

"How…" Sarah managed to get out, but she wasn't able to say anything else as she walked into the room and sat on Chuck's side of the bed. Ellie followed her in with a huge grin.

"Before we left for the supposed sabbatical, I had given Morgan instructions to pack up Chuck's room. We wanted it to seem like we were ready to move on. We even started house hunting before we left."

"Oh." Sarah stated stunned.

"Morgan arranged with dad to put the stuff in some storage and then went back to retrieve it later. We just got it set up a couple days ago."

"I don't understand. Why would you bring all this here?" She asked, still looking around the room, her body aching to lie on the bed and curl up in a ball and wait for his return.

She felt Ellies eyes on her, watching, her smile falling into a slight concerned frown.

"We brought it for Chuck of course. And for you too Sarah." Ellie responded.

Sarah was speechless. What was the point of bringing all this stuff here to the cabin? Did any of it really mean anything? She didn't really think so, but then again, it might to Chuck. She had lived her life out of a suitcase ever since she was a little girl running off on cons with her father; she never really owned anything that she wouldn't be able to leave behind in a moment's notice. Chuck might be different, she thought, looking up at the Tron poster that sat on the same wall side as it always had.

"He'll appreciate it Ellie." Sarah stated distracted. With a last nod and without a word Ellie left her alone in the bedroom.

Taking in the entire room one more time, she kicked her shoes off and rolled onto her left side curling up around herself. She grabbed the pillow and hugged it close; her heart beating wildly and painfully as Chuck's sent came through the clean smell of the pillow case.

Letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding a sob escaped her throat once, then twice until she was unable to contain them anymore and she let them come as they pleased. She knew Ellie meant well by showing her what the others have been working on but it just hurt Sarah more. Having Chuck surround her so much and the realization that this might be all that she'll ever have of him in the future hurt more than anything else in her life.

She wasn't sure how long stayed like that, curled on his bed, crying herself hoarse. If she was honest with herself she didn't really care either. She would gladly just stay there for as long as it took to get him back.

Finally after what felt like forever her tears subsided and she was left in that floating between of exhaustion and feeling blank. She closed her eyes, concentrated on her breathing, and finally she fell asleep.

"Do you think anyone would notice if we just stay here for the rest of our lives?" Chuck asked her.

"Stay in bed? Don't you think it would get pretty stinky after a while?" Sarah asked, looking up at him from where her head lay on his chest. He gave her a scandalized look, causing her to laugh.

"You bite your tongue Sarah Walker. We all know that you, the most beautiful woman in the room is incapable of being stinky. You would just smell like daffodils and rainbows for the rest of your life." He waxed poetically, making her laugh even more.

Sarah turned on her left side, still using his bare chest as a pillow as watched him. His eyes were soft and caring and his hands were creating goosebumps on her arm where his thumb was drawing lazy circles. Pulling up the blanket that was wrapped around her, she couldn't stop the shiver that wracked through her.

Chuck gave her a sad puppy look as she covered herself. "Why you do that? I was enjoying the view." He pouted at her. Sarah rolled her eyes and shoved the blanket down a little so he could at least see something.

"I have a feeling you're becoming spoiled." She told him.

"Never! You could never spoil me with your presence Sarah. Everyday I'm with you is a gift." Again Sarah rolled her eyes but she couldn't stop the grin that was plastered on her face or the butterflies that rolled through her stomach. Chuck was always saying such pretty things to her, always making her feel as if she were the best thing on the planet. It was something she was used to, men always telling her she was beautiful and trying to get her into bed with them, but Chuck was the first one whose words she believed. Every day spent with her, he genuinely believed was a gift and he had always made sure that she knew it. If anyone was becoming spoiled it was her.

"Well, I don't think General Beckman would approve of the Intersect wasting away in his bedroom, no matter how sated he was." She pointed out. And she was pretty sure that Casey would cut his ears out and serve it to them. She recently learned that she's not as quite as normal when Chuck is involved, much to his delight.

"True. No break for the Intersect." He huffed out annoyed at being reminded of his role as the government plaything.

Sarah pulled herself up slightly, leaning over him letting the blanket fall and placed her lips upon his. The tip of his tongue licked her lower lip as she opened her mouth to allow him entrance, and moan coming from deep in her throat as she pressed herself further again, loving the feel of his body against hers.

They kissed languidly for a while, just enjoying the momentary reprieve from missions, covers and Casey. For the moment the entire world ceased to exist except for the two of them and Sarah wished with all her heart that it would always stay that way.

Soon though, too soon for Sarah, Chuck slowed the kiss, placing a few lazy pecks as he pulled away from her to look deep into her blue eyes. It made her shudder again, the intensity of his gaze; as if he could see right through her and view everything she ever tried to hide. Not for anything nefarious, to use against her or to harm her, but to know her, the real Sarah, who didn't even really exist.

"Let's run away together." He whispered to her. Sarah's eyes widened as her brows narrowed, never expecting that kind of request to come from Chuck.

"We can't Chuck." She said, pulling slightly away only to be pulled back to him as he placed a few kisses on her crown.

"Why not, why can't we? You have the skills, I have the Intersect. We can hide away and never be found. Just you and me." He said, his words painting a beautiful picture in his mind.

"What about Ellie, Chuck? You can't just leave her; she's your sister, your only family left." Sarah stated seriously, as she finally was able to pull away from him. The cold air hit her and she wished for nothing more than to curl up next to him again and steal his heat, but this was serious, this was treason.

Chuck's mouth opened a closed a few times before words were able to come out. "I'll tell her the truth." He stated.

"You can't do that Chuck. You know you can't."

"It won't matter at that point Sarah. If I told her the truth on why I had to run away to be with the woman I love then she would understand. She would know that I wasn't just leaving her like our parents did, that there was a reason." He stated.

"And the reason is some girl you're sleeping with?" She said incredulous. "You honestly think your sister will accept that? You obviously don't know Ellie very well."

Chuck sat up straighter, closing the distance between them and kissing her fiercely, causing the groan to come out of her once more. She wasn't sure how he was able to do that again and again but kissing Chuck was like needing air. She just didn't think she could live without it any longer. Pulling away from her he placed his hands on her shoulders, gripping them hard, but not enough to leave a mark. Sarah knew she could easily break his hold if she wanted to but the intensity of his gaze stopped her breath, wanting to hear whatever it was that he would say to her.

"You are not just some girl, Sarah." His eyes set on hers. "You have never been and you could never be."

She had to look away from him, not able to take his gaze and the way it saw her. "Chuck, I-"

"Why can't you see it Sarah?" He said pleadingly. She felt her gut wrench at his tone, forcing her to meet his gaze once again. His expression had fallen from one of determination to that of sadness. "You're more than just an ordinary girl, especially to me. You're everything to me."

Chuck-"

"You're everything I've been looking for, all wrapped up in one perfect blonde package."

"Chuck, please-"

"No, Sarah. I love you, damn it." He said angrily. "I love you, why can't you just accept it?"

"Because I love you too, Chuck!" She shouted, trying to get his attention. Chuck's mouth quickly closed as he stared at her. "I love you Chuck. I've never said it before because, well, it scares me." She admitted.

"Why would it scare you? I would never hurt you Sarah." HE said softly reaching out for her, but Sarah brushed off his attempt.

"I've never been in love with someone before. At least not real love I think. I'm trained to not have emotions, and…"

"And it scares you on how much you actually feel?" Chuck finished for her as a small smile crossed her face. She never would figure out how he could always read her so easily, but it was times like this that she was really glad for it.

"Yes." She said simply.

Chuck scooted the few inches that separated them, closing the distance and wrapping his arms tightly around her. Sarah laid her cheek against his shoulder, her lips gracing his neck, inhaling his musk as he held her tight. His warmth removed all coldness from her

"You never have to be afraid of anything with me Sarah, I promise you that." He whispered in her ear. Sarah closed her eyes, as a few stray tears fell down her cheek and onto his shoulder. She didn't even know that she was crying, but somehow she was. She had never felt so safe in her life, and she didn't think she would ever feel it again without Chuck.

"Sarah? Sarah, wake up sweetie." Ellie's voice broke through the haziness of her dream.

Sarah startled for a second, sitting up immediately, looking around the room. Forgetting where she was, she felt surprise and shock at seeing Chuck's bedroom, until remembering why she was seeing it, what had happened? For one blissful moment she had forgotten about all the pain. She looked over at Ellie questioning for a second as the confusion melted away and the pain came back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said quietly, rubbing her hand over her eye. They felt tired and stiff from the dried tears of late.

"It's ok Sarah. I just wanted to come tell you that dinner is almost ready. "Ellie told her gently. Sarah nodded that she understood as Ellie gave her a soft pat on the shoulder before leaving her to her peace once more.

With one last glance around the room, Sarah collapsed back on the bed, clutching the pillow tightly to her chest and let a small smile creep upon her face as she closed her eyes and remembered that wonderful night with Chuck again.

 **A/N: I don't wish to alarm anyone...but I think I've almost mastered the Rubix Cube!**

 **zanex9:** But of course!

 **MrBi11:** It does feel kinda slow but I think its cause it keeps going back and forth.

 **fezzywhigg:** You're welcome! Thanks for the compliment. I try to keep the characters as close to how they should be as possible, as its why we fell in love with them.

 **atcDave:** Thank you. I wish the series had had more Morgan/Sarah scenes.

 **Rob M (Guest):** I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far. I love the Sarah/Morgan stuff. I like to think that if something were to happen to him Chuck would want Sarah to watch out for Morgan as well, which she had done in ch 1. And thank you for the compliment. I love drama and angst (in reading not real life.) I agree, it really makes the resolution more powerful and enjoyable, and it seems more real.

 **sevenrez:** *gasps* Not a Morgan fan? Its ok, I still like you *huggles* And, you're welcome.

 **phnxgrl:** Thank you for reviewing! i'm glad you enjoyed it.

 **wilf21:** And all 'round great friend.

 **sram15:** Wow...lots of dislike there...i totally approve. And as for how Chuck is gonna be..you're just gonna have to wait hehe.

 **.58118:** That is a high compliment! I'm glad its an itty bitty like the show! thanks for reviewing!

 **uplink2:** I totally never believed it either. I truly believe Jill and Bryce did the naughty. And thank you for the compliment. It is kinda tough especially since I have to transition out of it in a few chapter. *sigh* Hopfully you'll enjoy it.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you Charahkids for being my Beta!

Also, the scenes with Nick that you see are memories in case they were confusing or like...something.

Chapter 6

Present

They separated and ducked behind random vehicles and other obstacles that were around to hide them. They weren't exactly hiding from cameras as they were all disabled and controlled by Orion, but they still had to watch out for the guards that patrolled outside the compound as well as in.

"Walker, two guards ahead of you. Take them out so Larkin can get by." Casey's voice rang through the ear pieces. Sarah peeked over the top of the vehicle's hood she was using for a shield and aimed her tranq pistol at the two guards walking in formation in front of her. Silently she pulled the trigger, both guards falling hard on the ground with a silent thump, asleep.

"Done, let's get going." She said.

Back and forth weaving in and out they made their way slowly to the entrance stopping right outside the door. They waited several seconds as Orion did his magic from his secret little cabin until the light on the keypad changed from red to green, indicating it was unlocked.

Casey swiftly opened the door with Sarah on the other side of it, holding her weapon as she begun sweeping the entrance. It was completely empty as they had expected and a small smile crossed her face.

Walking down the empty hall and down stairs, avoiding the elevators they made their way silently through the bunker, taking out guards and agents as they went along. It seemed easy, way too easy but Sarah wasn't worried. They had planned this for a long time before they took action. They studied the schematics of the entire bunker over and over, planned for contingencies, did everything they could to ensure they would be successful. Just a little longer and this whole thing could be over.

Earlier that day.

They had left several days ago, leaving the haven that Orion had built in the middle of nowhere, leaving Ellie, Morgan and Devon to prep for anything that may come their way. It had been a long nonstop journey to Virginia from where they were. They had arrived mid-morning and had a light breakfast before deciding they should get some sleep before spending some last minute time prepping. They had gotten one hotel room, disguising their appearances and using fake ID's.

Casey took first watch sitting by the door, cleaning the equipment quietly as the others tried to sleep. Bryce and Jill shared one of the twin beds, both knowing that Sarah would not want to share a bed with either of them. They hurt Chuck the most through his life and she had no desire to be anywhere close to them if she could.

Sarah lied in the hotel bed staring at the ceiling and listening to Casey's meticulous cleaning and the traffic from outside. The curtains were drawn hiding the light from coming in, but the room was still bright enough for Sarah to see everything. The lull of life happening outside the dingy hotel was somewhat soothing to Sarah and the other occupants except for one problem, Sarah couldn't turn her head off. That evening they would launch the rescue mission for Chuck and everything would be over one way or another. She would either get her Chuck back and hide him from the world for the rest of their lives, or she will never see him again. Both prospects scared the hell out of her.

Sleep eluded her as she thought this and she knew there was no way she would really be able to sleep. Too much worry ran through her, so instead she let her mind wonder off to happier times. The memories caused her pain, thinking about carefree times with Chuck. Seeing him happy, remembering his words. But they comforted her as well, seeing his smile. Seeing the way his eyes lit up every time he saw her. Nobody ever made her feel that special before, and she doubted anyone ever will. Her mind strayed to their last night together, and how much fun that they had.

XXXXXXX

Sarah's stomach fluttered as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, eyeing her makeup job critically. Tonight was an important night and she had to look absolutely perfect. It was her first date with Chuck. They had obviously been on many cover dates over the past almost two years of Sarah being his cover girlfriend as well as the six months past they were truly together, but tonight was real. Tonight was their first real date after the disaster that was their first first date.

It had seemed so long ago now, that disastrous night. It didn't start out that way though. Sarah had been on many dates of course over her years of service to the CIA. . She had been wined and dined by dictators, executives, rich playboys and dignitaries. She had eaten the best food the world has to offer and had been wooed by the most gorgeous men on the planet. But that first date with Chuck, as she tried to ascertain if he was in on the theft of the Intersect with Bryce had been a lot of fun. Chuck had been easy to talk to, the food had been delicious, and his company made her forget at moments that he was just a mark and she wasn't just on a date.

She still wanted to kill Casey at times for interrupting their date.

"Don't confuse yourself Walker." She muttered to herself leaning into the mirror for one more close inspection. Everything looked great, at least in her opinion. She hoped that Chuck would think so too.

A smile crossed her face at that thought. Of course he would. She knew she was beautiful, had been told by many men from all around the world that she could be wearing a garbage bag and it would look like the newest fashion. She never believed a word from any of those other men, but she believed Chuck. He was so sincere about that lame compliment when he gave it that she had no doubt in her mind that he believed it.

Her smile grew as a soft knock echoed through the hotel room that she called home, knowing that only Chuck would knock in such a way as to create some kind of patterned sound. One last glance and she was exiting the bathroom and heading towards the door, ignoring the flutters that had bothered her not moments ago before opening it.

There he stood, in all his 6'4 glory in front of her. Sarah took a moment to catalogue him from top to bottom, his black slacks, his light blue dress shirt with sleeves neatly folded up to his elbow as they always seemed to be completed with a black waste coat and a navy and black stripped tie. His hair was neat and tidy, or as tidy as it could be with the animals that inhabit it, and the whole ensemble was topped off with his patented Chucks.

In her opinion, he looked perfect.

"Hey" he said softly his eyes never leaving hers. It was another thing that she's finding she loves about Chuck. She knew he respected her, and not just for her body and looks. He respected the person inside her, beneath it all. It was the first time anyone ever did and the feeling just intensified her emotions for him.

"Hey you." She replied. Glancing past him she looked around a second, assessing if anyone was nearby. Seeing no one she reached to him, grabbing his hand and tugging him into the room quickly, slamming the door louder than she intended as her lips met his.

She felt his body stiffen for a second before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders bringing her in closer to him. She resisted the urge to moan into his mouth as she allowed his tongue to gain entry. She wasn't sure how long in continued, she didn't care. She wanted to stay like this wrapped in his arms, kissing him, holding him, never letting him go. But finally Chuck's kisses became slower and more chaste as he pulled away from her, both of them breathing heavily as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Well, hello to you too." He said softly causing her to laugh loudly.

"Maybe we should just stay here Chuck. You know, order in, watch a movie. Maybe spend some time together, alone." She whispered up at him, kissing his lips once more, this time giving in to the moan that burst through her throat. But Chuck pulled away quickly, looking down upon her with squinted unbelieving eyes.

"Are you crazy? Do you know how long it took me to get you to agree to this?" He said incredulous. Sarah rolled her eyes, placing a last kiss on the side of his lip before pulling away from him to find her purse.

"Years. I know."

"Years Sarah! Years! Since I first met you and our first date was ruined by Casey trying to kill us and blow us up and a bomb. I mean, seriously you are one hard woman to get to commit." He babbled as Sarah nodded.

Sarah gave a smile at him and rolled her eyes slightly. They've had this conversation before, many times leading up to this night. "You have to admit Chuck at least it was memorable." She pointed out standing in front of him again, watching his eyes widen even more.

"Memorable to the point where not only do I still have nightmares about it but I can't even tell anybody about it. I mean I was hoping to get to first base, you know, maybe a little kiss on the cheek but I was not expecting to almost get blown up with spies by terrorists. That wasn't even on the top ten list of what would be considered an awesome date."

Sarah gave Chuck a lopsided grin. "I don't know Chuck. You were pretty cute. I'm pretty sure I would have at least let you get to second base." She told him, waiting for him to sputter at that. She was disappointed when his eyes perked up instead.

"Really?"

"Chuck! You would have gone along with that?" She admonished laughing at him as he nodded his head.

"Please, Sarah. I'm a nerd. I'm respectful of women as my sister has taught me well. But if a woman says it's alright to place my hands on parts that are typically considered off limits to the general population, I feel it is my duty to comply with her request. Not only because it would be rude to deny a woman what she wants if she really wants it, but for nerds everywhere who don't get to participate in such activities often enough."

Sarah couldn't say anything to that so she just shook her head and walked passed him to the door. Placing her hand on the knob she stopped mid turn before facing Chuck again with her brow raised.

"Can you maybe say something about how I look tonight Chuck?" She requested, feeling kind of silly about having to ask but wanting to hear what he thought about it. She did after all just spend two hours putting herself together for him, though he would have told her to just be comfortable. She liked dressing up for Chuck, he seemed to appreciate her effort more and not just for sex.

Chuck leaned slightly to the left cocking his head to the side appraising her. Sarah felt her cheeks burn slightly in a blush as he did so, but she could tell by the way he looked at her that he very much appreciated the little black dress and heels she was wearing.

"You look very beautiful Sarah. The top really accents your neck beautifully." He complimented standing up straight again.

Sarah gave a very unlady like snort, rolling her eyes once again and opening the door. "You can't just say my boobs look great like everyone else?"

The date had gone much better than she expected. Not in that she had fun, which of course she did but between her and Chuck their luck in doing anything relaxing and fun was never in their favor. With the Intersect newly updated just the previous week Sarah was on high alert in the event that Chuck flashed and they had to get into action.

Thankfully all the bad guys took the night off and they had a lovely relaxing evening of dinner, dancing, ice cream and a stroll on the beach, where they stayed for the rest of the night until the horizon began to brighten.

After Chuck took her home, walking her up to her door and placing a soft kiss on her cheek before bidding her goodnight and leaving her at her door, much to her dismay, Sarah entered her apartment only to collapse against the door and slowly slide down to the floor in pure bliss.

Sarah Walker was in love. And she wasn't afraid of it.

Finally Sarah Walker fell asleep, with a smile on her face and hope in her heart.

She woke up with a start as a large hand on her shoulder shook her lightly and said her name. She sat bolting up, reaching for the gun that she normally slipped under her pillow, noting for a second that it was gone.

"Calm down." Casey's voice growled over her and her gaze immediately shot to him. Closing her eyes warily, once realizing that she wasn't in danger she let her body fall back against the uncomfortable bed with a loud groan.

"Is it my turn?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"No, it's time to start getting ready. There should be some hot water left for you." He told her walking away.

Looking around the room she noted that both Bryce and Jill were not in there. She sat up slowly, putting her feet on the ground as she analyzed the contents of the hotel room.

"Why wasn't I awoken for my shift?" She asked curiously, standing up and stretching. She caught Casey's gaze for a second before he went back to whatever it was he was doing.

"You needed the sleep. I took a longer shift then woke Larkin. Guess he did the same." He grumbled. Sarah looked back at the bed, seeing another dent on the other side.

"I didn't hear or feel you get into the bed. Did you sleep in the chair or did you share a bed with Jill?" She asked curiously.

"I slept with you. Better not tell Bartowski though. It'll get his panties in a bunch and I really don't need to listen to that crap." He stated.

Sarah rolled her eyes, not dignifying his words with a reply. She knew he was only joking, but she wasn't really in the mood for it. She had to focus and she was already disoriented from over sleeping when she wasn't expecting it and from the dream of Chuck and her first date. Giving a nod Sarah grabbed her small bag that she had packed before leaving Orion's and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

Present.

Sarah felt they had been in the facility for far too long. With their endless hallways seemingly to all looking the same she felt as if they were just walking in circles and not getting anywhere. They came across only a few more guards, quickly taking them out with tranq pistols and hiding them out of the way as to not alert anyone else to their presence, but so far everything had gone according to plan.

Wandering further down a few more halls the group finally located a blank side of wall that Orion had informed them to be the secret entrance to wherever they were hiding Chuck. What really lie beyond the secret passageway was anyone's guess but Orion suspected with a confidence that it was most likely a command room that held the video surveillance for where Chuck was being held. It took several moments to bypass the security on it by using a keycard that Casey produced and sliding it into the secret slot in the wall along with the finger prints of one of the sleeping guards they had caught who had just exited the room, but after holding their breaths for a moment or two they finally got in.

Sarah stepped into the darkened room first and paused taking it on in as the others came in behind her tranqing the guards that sat at the consoles who barely had a second to register their presence before being knocked out. On any other mission she would have berated herself for what she just did but she had been distracted because on the screens ahead of her and all around showing images of her Chuck.

Sarah's heart beat faster as she held her breath staring at the man she loved on the screen for the first time in over a year. He looked different, not like her Chuck at all but he still looked the same and everything in her body urged her to break down any obstacle in her way and get to him.

She could tell by the images, the video surveillance that each had been taken at various times over the course of the year. Each of the screens showing him half lidded, obviously in the middle of a flash. She wondered what they were doing reviewing past videos but at the moment she didn't care.

"Walker, snap out of it." Casey shouted in a harsh whisper that only he could pull off. Sarah shook her head to bring her back to the task at hand.

She stepped up next to Bryce as he inserted a USB drive into one of the computers and they waited silently as Orion analyzed the data. It took a lot longer then she thought it would and she was beginning to get antsy, but finally the beep of their phones indicated that he was finished and she let out the breath she wasn't aware of holding in.

"There is a door off to the left. It needs a fingerprint, retinal scan and a 32 digit passcode that regenerates every twenty minutes." Bryce stated stepping towards where he was instructed.

"The hell? All of this security just to keep Bartowski in?" Casey grumbled. "They didn't even have this crap for the first Intersect before it was stolen and sent to Bartowski effectively ending his entire life."

Bryce smirked over in Casey's direction causing a scowl on the larger man's face. "That explains how I was able to get in and blow it up."

"Stop it. We don't have time for this" Jill warned stepping up to the door. "Are you able to figure out the sequence Orion?" She asked putting him on speaker phone.

"Yeah, I'll have it in just a moment, hold tight."

The group waited with baited breath. Sarah stood staring at the door instead of the screens around them, afraid that she'd be distracted by what she saw, afraid of what she would see, the state Chuck would be in.

"Got it!" Orion's voice shouted excitedly as a loud beep echoed around the room. The door hissed as it depressed and popped open slightly.

Nobody moved.

"What's happening? Does it lead to Chuck?" Orion's voice said over the line. Nobody answered as they all stared at the door in silence for a few moments. This was it. This was what they worked for.

"Sarah, you go. You should be the first person he sees." Bryce says softly next to her and gently pushes her in the direction of the door. Sarah agrees, whole heartedly but she's afraid.

Taking one last deep breath she pushed Jill out of the way and made her way to the open door. Slowly she pulled it open, her eyes blinking rapidly at the sudden bright light of the room as she entered.

A/N: So...I just read Chuck vs Himself. Holy crap that story has SO many errors. I kinda feel like I should go back and edit it more, and I feel with the expierence and feed back from you all that I could add a lot more to the story. So... Good idea, bad idea?

 **atcDave:** Thank you very much!

 **phnxgrl:** I'm glad you liked it.

 **wilf21:** I thought it would be sweet of them, and something they would do if they could.

 **zanex9:** Well, she needs closure too. Sometimes Normality is just the thing needed to get your feet back under you.

 **sevenrez:** You are welcome

 **Nomadic Nerd:** never fear. I always know you're lurking around somewhere and will read them when you get a chance. They are memories of the past. I think I could have made it more clearer but *shrugs* too late now.

 **Rob M (Guest):** Thank you for the review. I always feel most empathy for Sarah at times like this. And yes, things are about to move forward.

 **MrBi11:** Thank you! i will!

 **Doc in Oz:** Its coming I promise!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you charahkids for betaing.

A/N: I am so sorry guys. You should all know by now how I feel about cliffhangers and I'm so sorry that I left it that way. I didn't realize I had cut the story off. Luckily this one was almost done so I spent all day finishing it.

Chapter 7

15 months ago.

"If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower?" Chuck asked. Sarah burst into laughter and looked over at Chuck who had a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

It was a wonderful peaceful day. Beckman had given all of them the weekend off after spending the past two weeks tracking down a terrorist in the Los Angeles area. It had been a weird moment when the tiny woman smiled at them, congratulated them for a good job and then told them about their free weekend. It was even more of a surprise when she gave them permission to spend it up the coast, all-expense paid.

"Some weekend off." Casey had grumbled once the General closed the feed. But Sarah had assured him immediately that it would be, for all of them. They all needed the time off, even if theoretically she and Casey would still be working as they had to watch Chuck, but they had been going nonstop for months and needed the relaxation.

They had made arrangements to rent a small house just off the beach that was slightly isolated but still close enough to not feel cut off from everything. Sarah had taken full responsibility for Chuck's safety, letting Casey do whatever he wanted as long as he was within range if there was a problem. Nothing had happened, which had surprised her. Knowing their luck she fully expected Chuck to flash on one of the random people at the beach or in the small seaside town and their calm weekend would turn into another last minute mission, but nothing happened.

The first day, once Casey had left for whatever he was going to do, they barley left the bedroom. Only leaving it in the late afternoon for a dip in the water. It was wonderful and she felt at peace and fulfilled and wished for it to never end. The second day they had gone all around the little shops in the ocean side town picking up weird little knickknacks for souvenirs for their friends. Not that they were required as it was only a few miles outside town, but Chuck loved getting things for others and he took such care into picking out something each person would enjoy.

Today, the last day, Chuck and Sarah lay on a giant blanket on the beach soaking up the sun while having a wonderful picnic that Chuck had surprised her with. Currently they were lying opposite ways with their heads together and Sarah had agreed to answer any questions that Chuck may have. She didn't see the point in hiding it from him any longer. She loved him, he knew it. She was hopelessly compromised and she had long decided that this was it for her.

Only, the questions she thought he'd ask he didn't.

"Seriously? You want to know what my superpower would be?" She asked him with a huge smile. He rolled to his side, propping his head up with his hand so he could fully see her face and nodded.

"You said I could ask any question so I did." He explained as if it was obvious. She quirked her eyebrow at him suspiciously, not really buying his innocent act.

"I thought you would ask, I don't know, more personal stuff." She said.

Chuck squinted his eyes at her, looking very serious. "What is more personal that your superpower? I mean come on it could show what your weakness is and make it very easy to defeat you." He explained once again causing Sarah to laugh.

"Chuck…" She started but his grin faded into a more serious expression as he rose up on his elbow to lean slightly over her. He traced her lips lightly with the tip of his finger, causing a shiver to run down her entire body.

"I don't need to know about your past Sarah, unless you want to tell me. I know who you are now and that's enough for me." He admitted honestly.

"What if I want you to know?" She asked him, curiously. A small lazy smile crossed his face as he leaned down and placed soft kisses upon her lips, his nose bumping into her chin making her giggle slightly has his chin tickled her nose. He pulled back from her, placing a final kiss on her nose before looking directly at her again.

"Then you'll tell me what you want to reveal when you're ready. I'm not going to push you on this Sarah. I've pushed for almost two years and it did nothing but make you back away. I'm willing to wait till you're ready, because I feel you are worth it. We are worth it."

Unable to contain herself any longer Sarah sat up on the blanket and reached her arms around Chuck, pressing her entire body to his and began kissing the life out of him. Chuck didn't seem to complain or mind as he held her just as tightly, both seemingly afraid to let go of the other as they lay back down on the sand.

Present.

Sarah's eyes adjusted to the overly bright lights of the room quickly as she looked around it. Her heart wanted to seek out Chuck immediately but the agent in her demanded she take stock of her surroundings.

It was a small room, barely bigger than a prison cell, but instead of being surrounded by bars there were only four walls that were painted a pure white, which only caused the bright fluorescents above to reflect even more around the room, making it hard to focus on anything in particular. The door behind her in which she came through was made the same, obviously making it difficult to know where it was. There were writings on the walls that broke up the clean whiteness of them and she stepped over to the nearest one to take a look. It seemed like gibberish to her as she was unable to make out most of the characters written so she moved on further into the room.

There wasn't much furniture in the room, just a dresser that was void of anything on it to one side, a twin sized bed off to the other that was far too small for someone of Chucks size and stature. A desk was off to another side was pushed out slightly from the wall and near it was a sink and a toilet. Her heart sank further at seeing the conditions that Chuck had been living in for the past year. She closed her eyes at the pain as her heart told her she should have come sooner, should have looked harder. But opening her eyes to the room again, a moment of panic sparked through her at not seeing Chuck.

She was about to turn back to the command area when a very quiet soft sound hit Sarah's ear as she turned to leave. She tipped her head slightly to hear better but nothing but gibberish could be heard. She looked around the room, searching for the person who inhabited it, her gut twisting wanting to see her Chuck but at the same time feeling slightly sick at the feeling that something was not entirely right.

She took several more steps into the room, searching intently for the source of the sound, becoming more and more alarmed that she couldn't see Chuck in the sparse room.

"Chuck?" She called out. The soft murmurings stopped suddenly and silence descended the room leaving a soft ringing in her ear.

"Sarah he's not on the security camera." Bryce said in her ear and she turned her head to view one of the many cameras that littered the room. She felt a shiver pass through her at the sear number, knowing that there was no inch of the room that couldn't be seen 24 hours a day. If Chuck had no privacy before, she couldn't even speculate what this would be considered. "There's one spot behind the desk that we can't see. Check it out."

Sarah nodded her head, but dismissed the notion that he could possibly be there. It wasn't a big enough spot. Chuck was 6'4, but she was going to check it out anyways. Approaching slowly, head still tilted to hear if the sound will happen again she walked over to the desk and stood on the other side for a moment, waiting to see if something will jump out at her.

"Chuck?" She said again, voice soft. A sudden startled noise and a thump heard behind the desk caused her to jump slightly but she came back to herself quickly and pulled the desk out of the way as to see what was behind it. She gasped at the sight and took a step back. "Oh my god."

The creature she found behind the desk couldn't be described right away by Sarah or anyone else who saw it. But for all intents and purposes it was a too tall too skinny man folded and twisted into a tiny ball up against the corner of the wall. Sarah's heart stopped at seeing him. The ball whimpered and cried in fear, wrapping its long skinny arms tighter around its bean stalked legs and pushing itself impossibly tighter to the wall.

"Come on Sarah we don't have much time." Jill's voice said urgently, bringing Sarah back to the present.

Sarah nodded her head in understanding, not taking her eyes off of Chuck and knelt down on the floor a few feet away from him. He hadn't even looked up to see who was currently in the room, but from the soft cries and whimpers that was coming from him Sarah could only imagine that he didn't like the idea of finding out.

She took another moment now that she was closer to get a better look at her boyfriend. Aside from being skeleton skin, his hair was shorn short and bald in some patches. She could see dark bruises in various degrees of healing, or just beginning to form on his arms and one on the side of his neck that was exposed. His skin was pale white and practically translucent, matching the walls surrounding them from the lack of sunlight. Sarah didn't know that she had enough of a heart left that wasn't broken already to break any further until this point.

"Chuck." She tried again, softly. He didn't make a move. "Chuck, it's me, Sarah. I'm here to save you." She said, still getting no response from him. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked around the room desperately for anything that could help her. But the room was devoid of anything but furniture made of the softest, weakest materials available. With one last attempt she crawled the few feet that separated them and reached her hand out cautiously. The second she touched his arm he pushed his body further into the wall, causing Sarah to jump back at the loud thump, crawling back a few steps as she watched Chuck fling his arms and legs out in disarray as he tried to get as far away from Sarah as possible, only to be blocked by the wall.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him, couldn't turn away. Her heart pounded in her chest as tears welled up in her eyes and the only words running in her head were 'oh god' over and over again. She wasn't sure what to do, how to calm him, how to sooth him and let him know that he was safe now, that she wouldn't hurt him, so she just watched him in horror as he continued to fight off whatever imaginary enemies were attacking him.

Until a soft sound whizzed by her ear and Chuck stopped moving completely and slumped boneless against the wall.

Stunned, she turned around quickly, getting to her feet, pointing her own weapon and saw Casey standing right behind her, tranq pistol still poised aimed at Chuck.

"Casey! What did you do?" She asked astonished before anger took over. Casey just shrugged his shoulders, finally lowering the pistol and holstering it into the waistband of his pants.

"Change of plans Walker. He's not walking out on his own and we have to go." With that he strode forward to Chuck, not flinching even an inch as he reached down and touched the mangled stained clothes he was wearing and lifted the tall tiny man up onto his shoulder in a fireman's hold. "Let's go." He said gruffly.

Sarah stood stunned still for a moment, unable to move as she watched her large partner carry Chuck out. She heard Bryce and Jill's voices in her ear at seeing him but ignored them, schooling herself; she grasped tightly onto her gun and exited the room.

The whole op was a lot easier then they originally thought it would be. With all the guards knocked out and the cameras all on a loop not showing what was going on, everything went smoothly. Nobody noticed anything was out of place and each of them hoped it stayed that way until they were far away from there. The only thing that went wrong was Chuck. They hadn't expected him to be in the condition they found him in.

They had all ran across the back of the facility, back to the hole in the fence and their waiting vehicle as quickly as they could. Sarah switched with Jill, wanting to be as close to Chuck as possible and got into the back first so Casey could lay his head on her lap.

They sped away a few seconds later.

The car ride to the first switch off was in complete silence, nobody saying a word, each lost in their own thoughts and Sarah knew they were all on Chuck. Sarah cradled Chuck's head in her lap, softly running her fingers through his shortened hair. She didn't like it. She loved running her hair through his lushes curls, feeling the softness of the tresses. Her breath hitched each time her fingers touched some kind of scab or wound on his scalp and she wondered if Chuck had done that to himself or if it was from some sort of cruel treatment on the government's part.

Either way a few hours later they pulled over on the side of the road where the second vehicle was parked waiting for them. They carefully transferred Chuck to that SUV, it was bigger and had more space and changed their clothes and took off their gear tossing it all into the first car. Bryce and Casey changed Chuck out of his dirty clothes, Sarah getting a good look at the stained pants and shirt he had before tossing it in the car as well. She felt all the air get knocked out of her at how small he looked inside his old clothing as she slid into the new car.

Before they took off for their next location Casey dosed the vehicle and rolled it deeper off the road down a ravine before tossing a match down after it catching the whole thing on fire.

All evidence was destroyed. Now they just had to get Chuck to safety and heal him.

"How is he?" Casey asked from the front seat a few more hours later. The sun was beginning to rise behind them as they made their way west. Sarah looked up from where she was staring at Chuck still face and met Casey's eyes in the review mirror.

"Still sleeping." She replied softly. Jill turned around in her seat to face them and for the first time Sarah didn't have the energy to scowl at her, instead meeting her concerned gaze with one of her own.

"We won't reach our next destination till late afternoon; the drugs should wear off by then." Sarah nodded and went back to staring at Chucks face, which though drugged was still pinched as in pain.

"We should keep him drugged until we get to Orion's." Bryce stated. "We don't know how he'll react. Its best it's not in a moving vehicle where we can't control him."

"He doesn't need to be controlled Bryce. I think he's had enough of that." Sarah bit out glaring dangerously at him.

"I didn't mean it that way Sarah. I just." He paused and she knew what he was implying. "You saw him Sarah."

"I did. And I agree. He should remain asleep until we get back. Until Ellie and Devon can take a look at him." She said softly.

It took them another two days and another car change to get back to Orion's hidden cabin, the whole time Sarah sat in the back with Chuck, refusing to let go of him. They had kept him sedated for the whole trip, pulling over several times a day to change his clothes and once to bathe him. It was hard and exhausting and Sarah felt like screaming and waking him up each time watching Chuck have to suffer such indignity, though they were all respectful of him.

At long last hey pulled up to the final road that would lead them to their final destination. Sarah was antsy after sitting in a car for so long and wanting to get out, to move around, to breathe fresh air, and most importantly help Chuck.

Casey stopped the car in what seemed like the middle of the forest, it appeared nothing was around for miles but Sarah knew otherwise. Pulling out the burn phone from the glove compartment Casey called the only number programed into it and waited.

"We're here." Sarah heard him say before disconnecting it. They waited in silence a few moments, nothing and nobody moving, waiting for whatever happened next.

A few seconds later the car began to descend into the ground, the vibrations shaking through each of the spies in the vehicle as it was lowered. Sarah watched as the forest ground rose up over the top of the car leaving them in darkness for a moment before light spilled out from below them, opening up into a darkened cavern.

There stood Orion, or better known as Stephen Bartowski next to a control panel watching as the car descended. Standing next to him was Ellie, arms wrapped tightly around herself and her fingers playing idly with a thin chain around her neck looking worried.

Sarah felt a slight bump as the platform stopped at the bottom and everyone begun unbuckling their belts. The door on her side was opened suddenly causing Sarah to jump slightly seeing both Devon and Morgan there waiting.

"Oh Chuck-me." Morgan said behind Devon at the sight of Chuck.

"Honey, bring the gurney over." Devon shouted. Sarah didn't move as they maneuvered Chuck over her and onto the gurney. She watched, eyes wide, making sure they didn't do any more damage to him before speeding off down the long tunnel to the cabin.

Sarah got out of the car and stood next to Ellie, her body aching and protesting but starting to feel good at finally being able to stand again. They watched the boys retreating backs in silence until they were no longer visible.

"Shouldn't you go with them?" Sarah asked Ellie softly. Ellie shook her head and continued playing with the neckless, not looking away from where they just took her brother. "Ellie?"

"They think it will be better if I let Devon treat him for now. Just until we know what's been done." Ellie said simply. Sarah nodded, understanding that point.

Her body was wary and she just wanted to curl up on the floor and sleep for eternity. But she couldn't. She wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew that Chuck was going to be alright. That whatever damages the government had done isn't permanent. She didn't think she'd ever forgive herself if that was the case.

"You should get some sleep Sarah. You look horrible." Ellie suggested looking concerned.

Sarah shook her head. "No, not until I know Chuck is alright."

"Sarah we won't know that for a while. For one he's still sedated. It'll take time to go through and do an exam. Just, go up to the couch and rest. I'll come get you when he wakes, I promise."

The suggestion was really tempting, too tempting not to take it. If anything it would give her time alone to think, something she hadn't allowed herself to do since they retrieved him. Sarah nodded her accent and with one last glance at Ellie made her way through the tunnel and up into the cabin above.

 **A/N: Again I apologize for the clifhanger. This one ends better. With that in mind...it'll probably be a couple weeks till the story continues. I'm sorry. Breeders cup is coming up in a few weeks and we have temps to train and a lot of stake races. But I promise i'll be working on it when i can!. Feel free to drop me a line on FB or Twitter.**

 **zanex9:** I know! I'm so sorry! *sobs*

 **phnxgrl:** Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

 **atcDave:** Cause it is?

 **Nomadic Nerd:** I know i know. i'm so so sorry!

 **sevenrez:** I know, horrid cliffe. Hence why this is here! Woot. And you're right, _I_ actually do a slight re-write, if anything for my peace of mind.

 **MrBi11:** Yeah i don't think I made the memory/dream sequences clear. But I do hope you enjoyed them anyways.

 **wilf21:** lol You're tellin me!

 **Rob M (Guest):** Thank you for the compliment. I try to make it sound natural and how they would speak. I'm thinking I may rework cvh, if anything just cause I need practice.

 **fezzywhigg:** I did not meant to leave such a cliffhanger. I hate them with a passion. Even more so when authors don't finish their stories.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you charahkids for being my beta. Thanks at the bottom as always.**

Chapter 8

"Sarah. Sarah!" Ellies voice came through hushed and hurried, shaking her awake. Sarah immediately bolted up and looked around, reaching to grab the gun that was normally under her pillow before remembering she hadn't placed it there before her nap. She was in Orion's hide out at the moment and they were as safe as they could ever be.

"Ellie?" She said sleepily, her heart rate slowly coming back down from being woken up so quickly.

"You have to come. Now! Let's go." Ellie said quickly, standing from where she knelt next to the couch and pulling Sarah up with her. Sarah was confused but didn't say anything as Ellie grabbed her hand and dragged her to the secret door near the kitchen that would take them down to Orion's workshop.

"Ellie what's going on? Are we under attack?" She asked her friend, trying to slow down on the stairs so she's not pulled down them, resulting in her possibility of falling.

"What? Oh, no. we're fine. Everything's secure. It's Chuck." She responded, not stopping.

Chuck's name sprang Sarah into action and with that she let go of her friends hand and ran ahead of her down the hall. They entered a room to the side and Sarah stopped in her tracks at the sound of screaming echoing throughout the room and looked to the screen that stood along one wall.

"What the fuck?" She said, seeing Chuck slamming himself against the cushioned walls of the room he was in. She looked to the others who had bleak expressions on their faces as they watched the scene before them. She stepped further into the room, next to Orion, and looked down at him with piercing eyes.

"What is going on?" She asked, glowering at the man that was Chuck's father. Orion sighed tiredly and turned his chair to face her grimly before speaking.

"While you were on your way here I watched some of the saved surveillance from the bunker. They saved it all on an internal server that I was able to access and download once the USB was attached to it." He paused and Sarah watched his face intently.

"And?" She prompted after several minutes, not able to take much more of the silence.

"And we, Devon, Ellie, Morgan and I were concerned that once he woke up he could, and probably would attempt to hurt himself." He replied sadly.

Sarah's eyes narrowed at him in anger for not being told this before, and for them to not tell her. "So you put him in a padded cell alone? That was your answer?"

"We didn't want to Sarah. But you haven't seen the videos. They tortured him into submission. We were concerned for his state of mind."

Sarah scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest in anger, afraid if she didn't contain her hands she may reach out and strangle him. Chuck's screams still filled the room but became less powerful as he wore himself out. She glanced at the screen next to her, watching as Chuck slammed himself one more time into the softened wall before collapsing in a heap on the floor, muffled whimpers still coming out.

"I couldn't stand for him to be restrained Sarah, which would have been the best option. We built this after hearing from Casey that it was decided to keep him sedated." He explained. Sarah nodded and finally looked back at Orion, seeing the pain in his face. It was the same pain that she felt in her heart. He just wanted what was best for his son, to keep him safe, to make him better.

"What's happening then? Did any of you talk to him yet?" She asked them.

"Devon was in there checking on him when he finally woke up." Ellie said softly, a sniffle escaping from her as she closed her eyes. "He was so scared Sarah. He attacked Devon, broke his fingers-"

"Nothing that won't heal babe."

"He bit you, Devon. My brother bit you on the neck like some, vampire or something." She covered her face with both her hands and Sarah's heart twinge at seeing the distress her friend was in. She glanced back to the security camera, watching as Chuck lay on his side facing one of the walls, breathing heavily.

"It's not his fault El." Devon soothed. He went to wrap his arms around him only to have Ellie brush them off and walk away.

"Of course it's not. Chuck would never do anything like that. He's like an animal or something now." She said angrily.

Casey sat down heavily on the chair behind him, letting out a slight growl that would make weaker men shake. Sarah's eyes met his, and he slightly nodded. He knew what had happened, and so did she. Chuck was for the most part a very cooperative person. He had put up with a lot from the government all with no pay or even a thank you. However the loss of his freedom and being taken away from his environment would be a shock to Chuck and she knew, always had, that he would not do well in a bunkered environment.

It was standard SOP. Depending on the asset, the government while taking away their freedom would practically bend over backwards to gain the cooperation of their asset. However when those methods prove fruitless the government has no problem with using more firm methods of persuasion. One of those methods was drug control.

Laughter filled the silent room, startling them. As one they turned towards the screen seeing Chuck in the same position on his side staring at the wall, his laughter filled and echoed around the room. Sarah narrowed her eyes at the screen, watching intently for anything.

"Stop. That's not true." Chuck said. "Pigs do fly, haven't you seen the Simpsons movie? Spider pig, spider pig, does whatever spider pig does. Does he swing from a web, no he can't, he's a pig. Spider pig!"

"The hell?" Casey stated the same thing that was running through all of their minds.

"We did a toxicology report on him. His blood contained traces of sodium amobarbital and LSD." Devon said quietly.

"Sodium what?" Morgan asked confused. Sarah shook her head unable to answer. It was bad. Really bad.

"It's a barbiturate. It has sedative properties loosening the users inhibitions. Combined with the LSD, well." Devon explained.

"It's used as a truth serum. To loosen the tongues of stubborn prisoners, or in this case, assets." Casey added.

"Is he, well, Chuck…" Morgan bumbled a few more tries before eventually going quiet.

Sarah couldn't look at him, not wanting to see the pain and worry that was undoubtedly sketched all over his face over the situation. She imagined that the poor little man felt strangely overwhelmed. Just over a year ago he was just another Buy Morian, working in a dead end job that he absolutely loved to hate, working with his best friend. But now he's been pulled into the world of international espionage and participating in an act of treason by breaking Chuck out of a government controlled bunker.

Chuck and Morgan's lives were simple before the government got involved. Their days consisted of going to work, putting up with crazy co-workers and customers then coming home and indulging of never ending gaming while eating junk food.

Even Devon and Ellies lives used to be simple. Just plain ol' doctors, albeit great ones with the potential to go on to do great things in their respective fields. It was really a testament to Chuck's integrity that these three people would give up their lives, their existence to rescue him from the clutches of the government.

"Morgan buddy. I can't say he'll be perfectly alright." Devon said comfortingly. "Especially without a psych eval but I'm confident enough to say that he'll be mostly alright because he has us. And we will not let him down."

"Yeah Morgan. We won't give up on him. Right now we need to detox him of the drugs and then we'll see what we're working with." Ellie told him and to everyone's surprise hugged Morgan.

Those in the room nodded their agreement as Ellie finally burst into tears, letting go of Morgan to wrap her arms around her husband's neck. Sarah sat down heavily in the chair next to Orion, still looking at the monitor in front of her, watching as Chuck rolled onto his back, a huge smile on his face as he continued talking to whatever imaginary thing was there. Sarah's heart felt itself breaking and she wanted to curl up in a corner and cry, but she refused to allow herself to. They had come too far, she had lost too much. She would not give up on Chuck. Not now, not ever.

Even if that means he was forever insane.

Sarah stood on the outside of the locked door to where Chuck was. They had all stayed in that command room that Orion had set up watching Chuck, his every move on the screen for a couple more hours nobody wanting to leave him alone. Sarah felt hollow watching it, felt guilty. Though they were there to help him, she felt at the moment they were no better than the people who had trapped him in that tiny room with their video cameras watching his every move 24 hours a day.

Orion sat in the chair next to her, alternating his view from watching his son whither on the floor, talking to imaginary beings or screaming out at invisible enemies in pain and watching more of the video he downloaded from the facility. Occasionally Sarah's eyes would turn from Chuck to watch his isolation, only to cringe and turn away as the truth of what had been done to Chuck came to their light.

She couldn't take it anymore, just sitting there. And a few hours later she announced she was going to go into the room. That she had been away from him for a year and she was ready to be with him, tell him he was safe and start the road to recovery and freedom.

Orion didn't like the idea, at least until they knew further what had been done to Chuck while he was captive. But he had a years' worth of surveillance that recorded every move of his life. She didn't have time or patience for that and neither did Chuck. He needed her now.

So she stood outside his door, waiting patiently, staring up at the camera in the corner by the door, for Orion to unlock the door. She glared hard at it, indicating that she was not playing and he better do what she says or there will be consequences. A moment later the door clicked indicating it was unlocked and Sarah slowly, hesitatingly opened the door.

Chuck had moved from where she saw him just minutes before. On the screen he had been laying on his side still, babbling away. The sound of the door must have scared him as he had scrambled quickly into the far corner furthest from the door, curled up as small as possible with his long arms wrapped around his legs, his face in his chin.

Sarah hesitated for a moment before stepping fully into the room, the door shutting behind her and beeping softly, indicating it's locked. She twitched her fingers slightly, her left hand twirling the plastic from the Ziploc bag Ellie had handed her on her way in. It held a peanut butter jelly sandwich for Chuck.

"Chuck?" She said softly from where she stood, watching him as he shook. But he didn't reply. "Chuck, it's me Sarah."

She took a couple more steps into the room towards Chuck, walking slowly and steadily remembering what he had done to Devon. She knew Chuck would feel bad for that once he came back to himself but she was cautious. She'd be able to handle herself if Chuck went crazy on her but she didn't want to have to hurt him. He was hurt enough and she didn't want him associating her with pain.

Staying a few feet away from him she knelt down on the floor on her knees and sat there quietly, patiently. She would let him make the first move. She would sit there quietly, patiently and hopefully he'll see she's not a threat to him. Or even better, recognize her and wrap his arms tightly around her body, happy to see her.

There wasn't a clock in the room so Sarah wasn't quite sure how long she sat there on the floor. Her legs begun to burn from the awkward position she was in on the floor. She wondered if Chuck felt the same stress on his body but she doubted it. He's had a whole year to get used to it. Exhaustion begun filling though her veins as she sat and she fought the urge to just lie down on the matrasses floor and just go to sleep. She wondered lazily how Chuck would take that.

Her mind wondered as she waited, catching on to what Chuck was saying before. In her mind she replayed everything he had said, trying to decipher who it was he thought he was talking to. It could be anyone if she was honest, but it did cause a smile to cross her face remembering spider pig. She remembered watching that movie with Chuck in the theater on a fake date. She had laughed so hard at it that she had spit out the water she was drinking and nearly choked as she doubled over laughing with a few snorts added in.

It was very un-spy like.

Regardless it entertained her and she was glad she went. Lost in her memory she found herself humming the tune to spider pig under her breath, a lazy smile plastered across her face.

"Sarah?" A soft voice called out. Immediately Sarah snapped out of her memory and looked over at Chuck. He was staring at her with wide eyes peeking over the top of his arm.

"Yes Chuck, it's me." She said. Silence descended the room again as the two of them analyzed each other. Everything in Sarah's being was screaming at her to close the distance that was between them and just wrap her arms tightly around Chuck. But she resisted, as much as she hated to do so.

"I don't know." Chuck murmur to himself, looking off to the side of Sarah. She followed his gaze and noting nothing but thin air there. "Maybe."

"Chuck, who are you talking to?" She asked him concerned. But Chuck didn't answer her as he turned more towards the wall.

Tears welled up in eyes and she watched him talk to himself. She now knew that most likely one of the imaginary people in his head was her and by that summation the other was probably Casey.

"There's no way. No. Just stop." Chuck said loudly to the imaginary person.

"Chuck." She tried again, scooting a few inches closer to him on the floor. She felt her fingers grace the Ziploc bag and she looked down at it. Picking it up, she held it in her hands, staring at it for a few moments before opening it and taking the sandwich out. "Are you hungry?"

Chuck stopped his soft babbling at the smell of the peanut butter from the sandwich and peek out over his thin arms again.

"This is cruel." He said to her and her brows narrowed. She didn't know what that meant, and quite frankly she was afraid to find out.

"No Chuck. It's real. It's your favorite. Ellie made it. You're safe now." She said softly holding out the sandwich to him. He didn't reach out for it, just stared at it and at her. "What did they do to you?" She whispered.

Taking a chance Sarah got back up on her knees and closed the remaining feet between them, leaving several inches still spaced and placed the sandwich precariously on top of Chuck's folded arm before moving back again. Chuck turned his brown eyes from her and onto the sandwich on his harm. He eyed it warily for a moment or two before his other hand snaked out and quickly grabbed it. Moving with speed she didn't think he had strength for Chuck crawled to the opposite corner from her and huddled there while he devoured the sandwich.

It was too much for her, watching this. Seeing him scared and afraid. Watching him as he devoured a simple sandwich as if it was his first meal in who knows how long. He was overly thin now true. According to Devon he was severely malnourished but she didn't know how he got that way. The government was cruel but it would never starve their assets, especially if they needed them as badly as they needed the Intersect.

She had to leave. Her mind and body screamed at her that she couldn't watch this anymore. Couldn't take it any longer. It was too overwhelming and there were too many unanswered questions that she demanded answers to.

Sarah stood up then and watched Chuck for a few more moments. She wanted to go over to him and touch him, run her fingers through his shortened patchy hair and tell him that she would be back. That she would return for him but she resisted, not quite sure how he would take it.

"I'll be back Chuck." She said to him. He ignored her, not responding. Sarah didn't really expect one, though she had hoped for one.

With one final glance in his direction she turned around and headed for the door, glaring angrily at the security camera that hung there as she waited for it to unlock. After hearing the beep from the door she gave one last brooding glance in Chuck's direction before finally exiting and closing the door securely, waiting for another beep to indicate it was locked.

Determination in her step Sarah walked down the hall to the command room where Casey, Ellie and Orion were sitting, opening the door then slamming it shut.

"What the hell happened to him?" She demanded angrily. Logically she knew that the people here had nothing to do with what happened to Chuck and how he is now but she was angry, she was beyond angry. She wanted answers.

"It's a lot worse than we originally thought Sarah." Orion started off grimly. "They isolated him immediately. He hasn't had any human contact since he was taken. He fell into a depression pretty quickly and refused to cooperate."

"He wouldn't flash?" Sarah asked taking the seat next to Stephen again. She glanced at the monitor next to her; Chuck had laid out on his side again facing the wall.

"Oh no, he flashed Walker. You know he can't control it. But he wouldn't give the information." Casey said.

Orion tapped a few keys in front of him and one of the monitors flickered from the current view of Chuck to surveillance from the bunker.

"See the wall here would open up push out." They watched as it did and a stack of folders and papers were stacked on a sliding table that protruded from the wall.

Sarah couldn't help but notice the difference in this room from what she had found him in. The furniture was nicer, more real. The walls were still bare and pure white but the furniture looked to be better quality and there were objects such as comic books and a television with a video game console there. However Chuck didn't approach the folders didn't even get up from the bed that at least looked big enough for someone of his size. He remained on his bed staring at the wall, not unlike what he was currently doing at the present moment.

"They would play video and sound clips on the television and he would flash but he wouldn't report what he saw. He barely moved, he wouldn't eat." Orion continued.

Sarah bristled and stood up, not able to watch any more of the video. "I told them. Multiple times. Chuck would not do well in a solitary environment." She ranted. "I told them he would withdraw and all their precious information would be useless."

"Sarah, it's not your fault." Ellie stated calmly, but Sarah brushed off her remark.

"It is, I should have done more." With that she sat down heavily in the chair again, closing her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them she looked back at the screen, staring at him for another moment or two she finally turned her gaze back to Orion, nodding her head for him to continue.

He pressed a few more keys on the keyboard and the time stamp moved up a week. She couldn't helped the stunned expression on her face at how much everything transformed in such a short amount of time. All the nicer furniture had been taken away and what was left was the crap stuff that was in his room when she rescued him. Gone were the clothes that Chuck had been wearing, the normal everyday clothes, and there was the standard white shirt and pants.

Still, Chuck stayed in the same position, unmoving and it was really unnerving to Sarah.

"You said he hadn't had any contact since he got there. How did they change everything?" She asked curiously.

"Like this." The screen changed and Sarah watched as a projector type device came out of the ceiling. A loud sound came from the screen and everyone in the room jumped at the same time as Chuck. The projector turned on, placing images all across the room on every surface but especially on the pure white walls. They were beautiful kaleidoscope illusions. Sarah watched in confusion, not sure what this had to do with anything when the wall where the door was hidden well opened up and five men came in and began moving things out. Sarah watched as they moved about the room, even moving Chuck without his notice.

"What…?" She started but couldn't figure out exactly what the question was. Chucks eyes were wide opened but not seeing. He didn't even notice what was going on around him.

"It was something they put into that update he had before they took him. Its allows them to make him docile.

"So what? They give him just about anything that could make him happy then take it all away when he doesn't cooperate with them?" Ellie asked angrily. "This is only a week later. They couldn't have expected him to just give in in such a short amount of time."

Sarah agreed with her friend. The government, while complete assholes with no regard to individuals, did have patience to a certain degree. She looked over to Orion to see if there was something he wasn't telling them only to see him and Casey having some kind of silent conversation. Sarah felt anger stab through her gut as she sat up in the chair.

"What aren't you telling us?" she demanded, looking between the two. She eyed Casey angrily and eventually he gave a nod of his head towards Ellie. Obviously there was something else horrible happening that they didn't want Sarah or Ellie to know about. But the time for sensitivities was long past. They needed everything they could help Chuck. "Tell us."

With a nod from Casey, Orion switched the video back the previous day. The four of them watched as the projector was lowered once again from the ceiling then proceeded to play video as sound bites came through the speakers. Sarah ignored everything else that was in the room and focused solely on Chuck, watching intently as she recognized the signs of a flash as his eyes rolled up and he went still. Only this time instead of ending and shaking his head, making some kind of sarcastic comment or a look of fear, it immediately started again. Then again.

Horror crossed Sarah's face as she realized what was happening. That they were forcing Chuck into continual flashing. After a few minutes of it Chuck finally covered his ears and shut his eyes a tight as he could between flashes, but it did no good. It wasn't enough. He screamed out in pain and terror, his voice mixing with the sound bites, the images from the projector dancing all around the now darkened room making it seem as if he were in some kind of drug induced psychosis.

Sarah wanted it to stop and was about to shout at Orion to turn it off when Chuck stumbled off the bed, hands covering his ears, his fingers clawed into the side of his head. Sarah felt overwhelmed and disoriented from all the chaos happening on the screen. She couldn't imagine what Chuck was feeling. However the horror wasn't finished as Chuck fell to his knees in front of the wooden desk in that tiny room and begun smashing his head against the edge of it.

"Oh god. Stop it. STOP!" Ellie's voice rang out. Orion immediately turned the video off. Sarah wasn't able to look away from the blackened screen. Her breath's coming in short drags as her heart beat wildly. She understood why they took the furniture out. They didn't want the Intersect hurting himself.

"So they drove him crazy? Is that it?" Ellie asked, her voice just a notch away from hysterical. Sarah didn't want to hear the answer to that but she had no choice and Orion gave a soft yes.

"Once they made it so he wouldn't be able to harm himself they started drugging his food and water. To get him to talk. The information wasn't as clear as it would be if he wasn't under any form of duress but it was enough for them." Orion explained.

"I…I can't…" Sarah couldn't voice what was going on in her mind. The agency she had pledged loyalty to since she was 17 had damaged the most wonderful person in the world. Even if she wasn't considered a traitor at the moment, she didn't think she'd be able to go back to them, or any other agency. Not now.

"Those marks on his body. Dad, did he do them himself?" Ellie asked. She didn't need an answer to that. Everyone already knew.

"Fuck." Was all Sarah could say

 **A/N: I meant to have this out a few days ago but I've got a really bad cold and I think I may be dying. *nods* most logical explanation I believe.**

 **zanex9:** Thank you. I'm really sorry about that.

 **phnxgrl:** They were not very nice to him sadly.

 **Nomadic Nerd:** I'm so sorry about the cliffhanger. I have read the fanfic, and it wasn't a nod to them sorry. I wish I was that clever lol. that's an interesting POV you have there. Most people are rooting for revenge, but I myself am always preferring justice, revenge makes you no better then the bad guys.

 **wilf21:** As my father, a government employee born, raised, and worked his whole life tells me all the time, the government can do whatever they damn well please. Poor Chuck.

 **atcDave:** thank you and Tadah!

 **sevenrez:** Well if he came out fine and dandy I wouldn't have a story to tell now would I :-p.

 **charahkids:** I hate cliffies. So many people use them, and then make you wait forever. Its rude!

 **Rob M (Guest):** Well, it wouldn't be an interesting story if he was just fine and dandy! But I always try to give him some kind of happy ending.

 **phathead01:** There you are! I was wondering where you were.

 **nire47:** Hehehe, we'll just have to find out! Er...but later though.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you Charahkids For betaing. Thanks at bottom.**

Chapter 9

"Hey Sarah." Bryce greeted as Sarah slumped into a chair at the kitchen table an hour later. She didn't even have the energy to respond to him. She lowered her head on the table, feeling the satisfying pain from the loud thump it caused. "How's Chuck doing?"

Sarah sat up again and glared at him, not dignifying him with a response. The man knew exactly how Chuck was doing. Not well. Worse than not well. Absolutely horrible. She wished she had her weapon on her, she would smack him with it. But Bryce looked down at her with genuine interest and Sarah was tempted to give him an answer.

"Bryce, don't be an idiot." Jill stated coming up behind Sarah and placing a plate in front of her. Sarah looked down at it seeing pancakes and eggs and her stomach rumbled. She couldn't remember really the last time she really ate. Aside from some take out that they had during the drive back to Orion's cabin, she hasn't had a real meal in quite a while. She barely ate the take out, too concerned with the man who continually slept with his head in her lap.

Her grumbly stomach turned to revulsion at the reminder of Chuck and she pushed the plate away slightly to get the smell out of her nose. Jill sat down next to her concerned but Sarah refused to meet her eye. She tolerated Jill being there out of necessity of needing her for the mission but now that Chuck was safe she wanted nothing more than for Jill to go away. She didn't want her around Chuck at all ever again, despite what she had done to help him.

"We're just concerned Sarah that's all. Ellie well, she doesn't want us near Chuck." Jill explained, pushing the plate back in front of Sarah. She turned away from it, the smell of the food making her feel nauseated.

"Yeah well, can you blame her?" Sarah bit out standing up and going into kitchen. She searched the cabinet above the coffee pot for her cup, or what she claimed as her cup. It was Chuck's Buy More mug, one of the few things she allowed herself to take. She used it every time she had coffee, without fail and freaked out on the others if they used it. They've learned to not touch that particular mug.

"Ouch Sarah." Jill commented under her breath.

"Look, Sarah, I know what you're thinking and I understand. We don't want to hurt Chuck. We're keeping our distance as requested to help him but please, tell us something." Bryce begged her.

Sarah stopped fixing her coffee and turned to stare at Bryce. She had never heard that tone in his voice before and it scared her a little. Bryce had always been the overly competent suave spy who didn't seem to have a care in the world. But the way he sounded, begging for information, it slightly unnerved her.

"You two should probably consider going soon. Chuck's safe now." She said, turning her back to them once more.

Taking a sip of her coffee still facing the cabinet she could hear Bryce muttering to Jill, who was not taking Sarah's casual dismissal of her so well. She wanted to smile at that. Agitating Jill was just icing on whatever cake was around.

"Just take a walk." Sarah heard Bryce forcefully tell Jill. Taking a slow drink of her coffee Sarah let her eyes close in bliss as the warm liquid hit her empty stomach. She could tell that Devon had made it by the flavor. It was rich and good and always hit the right spot.

So wrapped up in her coffee, her body and mind weary with exhaustion she didn't hear Bryce get up from his chair and come up behind her. She jumped slightly as he placed his hands on either side of her on the counter effectively trapping her there.

"How is he?" He whispered into her ear. Sarah elbowed him in the chest hard and pushed him away.

"Don't ever come that close to me again." She warned her voice low and deadly as she slammed her coffee mug on the counter, slopping a few drops onto its clean surface. Turning to face him she watched with a small smile as he held where she elbowed him grimacing in pain.

"Sarah, damn it." He coughed out. "I'm not the enemy."

"You're not the enemy Bryce but you are _an_ enemy." She said angrily. Bryce rubbed his chest a few more times before narrowing his brow at her.

"What does that even mean?" He asked annoyed. Sarah scoffed and elbowed her way past him, not dignifying it with answer. She was tired, and felt dirty. "Don't walk away from me Sarah." Bryce shouted after her.

She walked down the hall where they had placed Chuck's rooms and entered it. Sarah closed the door behind her harder then she intended but it gave her the resulting feeling she was aiming for. With a small smile on her face and kicking her shoes off she collapsed on Chucks queen sized bed face down and buried her face in his pillow, willing herself to relax.

The moments reprieve was brief however as the door was forced open roughly and hit the wall on the other side, most likely leaving a dent. Sarah rolled to her side to see Bryce standing at the door.

"Bryce, go away. I'm tired." She said drowsily. She knew she shouldn't have said what she did to Bryce. Not because it was rude or inaccurate but because she knew he wouldn't just let it go.

"What do you mean I'm an enemy? I don't want to hurt Chuck, Sarah. I never have." He ground out angrily.

Sarah sat up then, giving him a hard look. "But the fact is you have Bryce. You've hurt him worse of all." She said calmly.

"Any pain I've caused him, it was to save him." He argued. "And how could it be worse than anyone else. In case you forgot, the government imprisoned him."

Sarah turned away from him, not able to meet his eyes any longer as her mind's eye fluttered back to the images she had just seen not an hour ago. But she shook her head, removing the images and focusing back on the Bryce.

"Just go Bryce. I need some sleep." She lay back down then, curling her arm underneath the pillow. Bryce sat down at the edge of the bed staring at her. She could feel his gaze on her even with her eyes closed. "What?"

"I never meant to hurt him Sarah. I only wanted to save him. To keep him Chuck." His voice was softer, quieter. Sarah opened her eyes just a little and could see the sadness on his face.

"That's what makes it worse Bryce. You tried to save him, but in the end you betrayed him. You were his best friend, and that meant more to him than anything." Bryce nodded his head then, finally understanding. Or perhaps he knew it all along and just never faced it. Sarah had a feeling she wouldn't ever really know the answer to this.

"What the hell is going on?" Ellies voice rang out causing both spies to jump in surprise and reach for their weapons. They all needed sleep if none of them could hear Ellie Woodcomb come into the room.

Sarah watched her face carefully, seeing the angry glare she was giving at the both of them, though most of it was directed at Bryce. She hadn't been happy when she joined to find out that not only was Bryce Larkin alive but that he was going to be helping as well. Even with Bryce's explanation and pleading Ellie never forgave him for everything he'd done to Chuck. A small smile crossed her lips at remembering the sucker punch in the gut followed by another to the jaw Bryce had received from her the moment Ellie had seen him. It was beautifully poetic.

"Nothing Ellie, Bryce was just leaving." Sarah stated in a voice that left no room for argument. Bryce looked between the two girls, gaging them before nodding and standing up heading to the door. Before leaving though he turned around and looked at Sarah one last time. "What?"

"We do need to speak after your nap. About the repercussions." He said before leaving.

Ellie narrowed her eyes in confusion. Sarah padded the bed next to her, inviting her friend to come in and lie down for a few minutes. She could see Ellie too was on the verge of collapsing. Ellie grabbed Sarah's hand as soon as she was settled on her back and stared at the celling.

Sarah watched as the wheels turned in Ellie's head. It was something she always enjoyed watching whenever she had sleep overs at Chucks. The way he could just lay so still and stare into space. Sarah always wondered what was going on in his head, what was he thinking about? Was it day dreams or creations? As much as it fascinated her it also frightened her as well. She feared that it was the Intersect that occupied his mind that kept it always busy always running. She didn't know much about the science of the brain but she knew enough that it had to rest. That it couldn't be constantly running in the way the Intersect forced it too.

"You're thinking to loud." Ellie said softly, looking over at Sarah. She grinned at her friend and gave a shrug.

"Just thinking about Chuck. How we used to do this." She replied.

"Don't worry Sarah. You'll be able to do this again soon. He'll be alright." Ellie told her. Sarah wished she had Ellies confidence. So far everything she has seen has pointed to nothing but disappointment.

"How do you know?" She asked, not really wanting the answer. Ellie just smiled and shrugged.

"Because we're here. Because we'll help him."

Sarah wished she felt that confident.

Dinner that night was a silent affair. Jill had made some kind of chicken that surprisingly tasted pretty good, though Sarah would never tell her that. Apparently nobody else would either as she sulked through the whole meal waiting for someone to say something. The only one missing from the dining room table was Orion who elected to stay in the control room and watch over Chuck, not wanting him to be alone.

Or even more alone. Sarah thought to herself.

She watched as the others picked at their meals, each lost in their own thoughts. The nap had done her wonders and she felt rejuvenated a little bit or at least a little more mentally stable after discovering what had happened to Chuck. She was lost on what the next step would be. How do they fix the damage done?

"I'm going to go." Bryce said suddenly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at him expectantly. "I got a call from Director Johnson. He wants me in his office. ASAP."

Sarah's gut twisted, knowing exactly what Director Johnson was calling Bryce about. If anything she's more surprised that it's taken the director this long to contact him.

"Did he say what he wanted to see you about?" She inquired unnecessarily.

Bryce shook his head and set down his fork. "No but he's been trying for several days with increased fervent."

"What are you going to tell him?" Ellie asked concerned. And she had every right to be. It was no secret she didn't trust Bryce Larkin with anything but especially now that they have Chuck. Before they hadn't really done anything that was a crime, much. But now they all committed treason.

"Supposedly I'm deep undercover searching out Fulcrum, and that's exactly what he's going to continue believing. Thanks to Orion's help I have some data to take to them to back it up if they suspect anything." He explained. Ellie nodded her head but still looked concerned. Sarah reached over and placed her hand on top of Ellies, giving it a slight squeeze.

"Don't worry Ellie. We'll protect him." She encouraged.

"What about you Casey?" Ellie inquired, looking at the large man who sat at the head of the table slowly sipping black coffee. He shrugged nonchalantly and placed the mug on the table.

"I've had some communications from General Beckman as well. I'm to return to DC in the next few days." He stated gruffly, taking another bite of the chicken.

"What does she think you are again?"

Casey gave a bark laugh and a sneer. "I'm supposed to be in Costa Gravas, getting some intel on the supposedly new democratic government."

"Don't tell me, Dad gathered info for you?" Ellie smiled knowingly at him.

"It sure as hell beats living in the walls for weeks on end. Again."

They all nodded in agreement at that and returned back to their plates, the silence descending once again upon them. Sarah hated this silence, it allowed her mind to think and wonder and with that comes worry, more thinking and then to panic about everything. Before Chuck, she never had such anxiety be but for the past three years it seemed all she could do was panic.

Finished pretending to eat Sarah stood up and took her plate to the sink to wash, rinsing it quickly before heading back down the hall that would lead to the underground lair of Orion. She figured she should probably get a little more sleep but it's been several hours since she saw Chuck and she wanted to see him for herself.

"Hey you." Orion greeted from his typical chair as she entered the code to get in.

Sarah gave him a smile and sat in the chair to his right. Glancing at the monitor in front of it she noted that Chuck appeared to be asleep and a small smile crossed her face.

"I'm still amazed at how fast you put this room together." She commented. Orion smiled and nodded his agreement.

"It wasn't that hard. I had this room set up. Devon and Morgan helped with it. We worked through the night and day until it was done."

"I wish it wasn't needed." She whispered.

"Me too Sarah." He turned back to the console he was working on before she arrived and pressed some keys. She looked over his shoulder to see that he was still watching the surveillance from the bunker and she shook her head.

"I don't understand why you keep watching those. You know what they've done. You can see it on Chuck."

Orion sat back again and turned towards her, eying her closely. "Because he went through it Sarah. The more we see the more we know. The more we can relate to him."

Sarah nodded her understanding, though she really didn't understand at all. She didn't want to see any more of the torture they put Chuck through. Just seeing the results of it was enough for her.

"They hurt my son Sarah." He said, his voice so quiet she almost didn't hear him. "They hurt him, with technology I dreamt up. That I built. I can never forgive them for that. I don't think I can forgive myself either for my role."

"It wasn't your fault." She countered. But it fell on deaf ears. Orion blamed himself for not destroying the technology better. He gave her another wane smile before turning his back to her again, going back to what he was doing.

Sarah stared at his back for a few more minutes, trying to gage him a little more before turning back to the monitor with Chuck. He was awake now and was sitting in a corner of the room with his legs drawn up again. He looked so small in his white clothing in the white room, almost invisible.

Standing up she walked to a corner of the small room where the makings for sandwiches were. Ellie had set it up there so if anyone were to feed Chuck they could just make it there. She pulled out a couple pieces of white bread and spread the peanut butter on both slices before putting the jam on. A smile escaped as she remembered how impassioned he was when he explained why he liked it that way, and she really couldn't blame him. Jelly should not be soaked up by the bread.

Satisfied it's how he liked it she placed it on a paper plate and grabbed a handful of chips from the bag that was also sitting there. Also his favorite, sour cream and onion. A bottle of water completed the meal as she headed out.

"Hey, unlock the door." She said as she left.

The door beeped as she approached it, once again indicating that it had unlocked and Sarah opened the door slowly, not wanting to startle Chuck.

"Chuck?" She asked softly as she entered the room. Chuck was against the opposite side of the room, knees drawn up and face buried in his arms. He didn't look up or move as the door closed and Sarah stood there gaging him.

Sarah waited a few moments, not sure how to approach him before shaking herself mentally and taking a step forward. The plate in her hand felt heavy despite the light weight food on it, and the pit in her stomach grew as she got closer to Chuck, stopping once she was still a few feet away. She took a moment to look at him, or look at what she could see, trying to notice something she didn't the day before. But he looked the same.

"I won't hurt you." Chuck's soft voice hit her. For the first time over a year she saw Chuck's eyes as they peeked up over his arms and met hers, and recognized her.

"Chuck." She said simply and dropped to her knees in front of him. Still skittish Chuck brought his body tighter to himself but kept his eyes on hers. Sarah felt overjoyed as tears pricked the outsides of her eyes. But blinking quickly she gathered her wits and sat down more properly, still cautiously.

The weight from the paper plate brought Sarah back to the here and now and she held out the plate to Chuck who eyed it warily for a moment before untangling his long arms and reaching out for it. Sarah fully expected Chuck to grab it and hide in another corner like he did earlier but was pleased when he just balanced it on his knees and took a chip in his thin fingers.

He brought the chip to his mouth and took a small bite from it, breaking the chip into pieces that fell down around his chest, but he paid it no mind to the crumbs as he begun chewing slowly. "Am I a prisoner?" He asked her. Sarah shook her head.

"No Chuck. Why would you ask that?" She replied softly, though the answer was plainly obvious. Chuck shrugged his shoulders and took another small bite, more crumbs falling.

"I'm in a padded cell with a locked door." He answered simply. Sarah turned to look at the door, her eyes saddened at the truth of it. They had to lock him up for his safety and theirs. It made her think if perhaps that was the same thing the government had told themselves and Chuck when they had imprisoned him. She wondered if perhaps they weren't any better than them.

"It won't be for long." She said hopefully. "We just have to make sure…" She trailed off then, not sure what they were making sure of. If he was sane, if he was safe. Would he harm himself or someone else if he were let free. They had no way to know the repercussions of his time in isolation yet.

"I can think." He said softly. He moved the plate down to his feet, ignoring the rest of the food on it. Sarah wanted to scold him and tell him to empty it, but she didn't want to push him. Perhaps he was saving it for later. Or Perhaps the damage is too severe.

"That's-"

"It's clearer. More controlled." He interrupted, his eyes loosing focus for a few seconds before coming back.

"They drugged you Chuck." Sarah explained.

Chuck licked his lips a few times moistening them, his eyes leaving hers for a moment and focusing on the bottle of water that she had brought in for him. Sarah followed his gaze to the bottle then picked it up and handed it to him. It took Chuck a moment or two to reach out his own fingers and grab it, staring at the cool liquid contained inside it. He licked his lips again as he twisted his fingers around the cap and tried to twist off. Sarah watched him struggle with the bottle for a moment or two before scooting closer to him and holding out her hand for it again. He stared at her outstretched hand warily, giving the bottle a few more tugs before finally relenting the bottle to her.

Sarah gave a small smile as she twisted the cap off eagerly and handed it back to him. The moment it touched his lips his eyes rolled slightly into his head as he greedily drank down the contents. Sarah wondered if anyone had given him anything to drink in since they arrived.

Chuck sighed softly as he finished the bottle off and let it drop down to the mattress floor as he slumped against the wall. Sarah wasn't sure what to say at the moment so she did what she always did, stayed quiet. The silence stretched between them but it wasn't totally uncomfortable.

"It was in the food. And the water." Chuck's raspy voice told her after several minutes. "I knew something was wrong."

A tear rolled down the side of his cheek and Sarah's heart broke. She wanted to close the distance between them and finally wrap her arms around him and hold him close and keep him safe. To never let anyone hurt him ever again. But she stopped herself. He wouldn't accept any form of physical contact right now.

"There wasn't anything you could do Chuck." She sympathized. Chuck closed his eyes tight in pain and more tears fell.

"I tried to not take it. But I was so hungry. so thirsty. I gave in." He whispered. "I knew they were using me but, you told me to just let it go."

That statement peaked her interest and she sat up a little more and leaned towards him, slowly scooting herself across the floor a few more inches, closing the gap. Chuck must have heard her move for he opened his eyes quickly and wide, looking fearfully at her, eyes darting around as if searching for an escape so she stopped.

"What do you mean I told you?" She asked curiously, watching Chuck swallow his fear, but he didn't move, just watched her.

"I know you weren't there Sarah. I'm not crazy." He said pleadingly, begging her to believe him in this. Sarah nodded her understanding as Chuck swallowed again. "I was lonely."

"It's over now Chuck." She told him, but Chuck didn't seem to hear her as his eyes completely lost focus and his face began to slacken.

Sarah let out a small sob that she had been holding back as Chuck got lost in his own head. His pleading voice begging her to believe that he was sane broke her heart even as she showed she understood, because she didn't believe it. As much as she wanted to she knew Chuck was broken. And he wouldn't ever be himself ever again. But sitting on the floor next to him she became determined to never give up on, and that she would love him no matter what had happen or will happen.

Even if he was completely insane.

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been sick for over a week with the cold and we're training temps. Next chapter will most likely not be till. 11/4 or 11/5 Due to breeders cup being next weekend. However...I have an almost done chapter so cross your fingers.**

 **zanex9:** I have high hopes for Chuckles.

 **atcDave:** Healing coming up

 **phathead01:** You're making me blush. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! And I hope you continue to!

 **phnxgrl:** Chuck is so lucky he has friend who love him. Which is why I love this character.

 **wilf21:** Its coming up. Never fear!

 **John Clark (Guest):** Like a not so subtle punch in the face? It could happen.

 **sevenrez:** They still have parts, but thats a few chapters out.

 **Rob M (Guest):** Wow...so no pressure huh? lol. Well all that shall be answered hopefully in a way that you like as the story continues. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you charahkids for being my beta!

Chapter 10

Days went by in a whirl for Sarah as everyone begun to settle. Bryce had left the next day and there had been no word from him, not that they expected it for a while. Casey stayed a little longer, watching over Chuck in the command center endlessly except to take meals and restroom breaks, but like Bryce he had been ordered back to Langley and he couldn't delay for too long or there would be suspicion cast on him.

The only other person beside Sarah to see Chuck was Devon. He went into the room several times a day to check on him. Check his wounds; take blood tests which Orion ran in his lab. The drugs seemed to be leaving Chuck's system and with it he became more lucid for longer periods of time.

He told her the voices he had heard for so long were leaving him. At first it scared him. Sarah had fallen asleep at the console in the command center during the night when his loud cry of pain startled her. She jumped into action, reaching for the gun that was under the chair that she always kept even though she was safe only to realize there was no real danger in the room. Focusing on the screen she only glanced for a moment at Chuck huddled on his knees, his forehead touching the soft floor as he dug his fingers into his hair covering his ears.

She didn't waste any more time as she clicked the commands on the keyboard and ran out of the room and into Chuck's temporary padded cell. Ignoring Chuck's desperation for distance Sarah collapsed on her knees on the floor next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing soft circles in a soothing manner.

"They're gone. I can't hear them." He cried out loudly. Sarah had been confused, unsure of what he meant but didn't say anything aside from whispering that everything was ok.

Chuck was distraught over the loss as his body shook and sweat formed soaking slightly through the material of the soft shirt and pajama pants that they had put him in. It had gone on for an indeterminate amount of time, but Sarah was found the next morning by Orion who had noticed the door to Chuck's room partly opened as he walked by to the command room and ran in, tranq gun in hand. Sarah startled awake at his entrance and looked blearily around the room before her eyes met Orion's, narrowing her brow at the small smile that was on his face.

That was when she felt the weight on her legs and the arm around her waist and she looked down seeing Chuck fast asleep wrapped around her, her fingers lightly twirling the hairs around his ear.

That was the beginning of his recovery.

Ellie still couldn't bring herself to go into the room to see him in person, though she did watch him constantly from the command center. Sarah understood but she felt it was a wrong decision. While Chuck was still hesitant to rely on others he was healing at an extraordinary rate. He tolerated the others presence in his small space, though he still frequently kept his distance.

A few days after Sarah was caught in his room sleeping, it was decided by Devon and backed by Ellie that Chuck was of no danger to himself or others and could come leave the padded room now. Sarah couldn't keep the happiness inside as she quickly got up and hugged the life out of both doctors before running into Chuck's bedroom. She spent two hours washing the bedding, straightening the DVDs, hanging up his clothes.

Morgan came upstairs, babbling nervously from watching Chuck, informing her that he was currently freaking out a bit. Sarah gave him a kind smile and put him to work organizing the comic books so they were in the proper order. She listened to him absently as he explained the various comics and their stories as she made the bed and fluffed the pillows with a small smile on her face.

Once she was done in the room she came out to the kitchen where Ellie was cooking up a storm more akin with a Thanksgiving dinner. She stood on the other side of the breakfast bar for a few moments watching as Ellie painstakingly made sure she cooked everything to perfection. Looking at the dishes and food Sarah could tell that she was going out of her way to make every one of Chuck's favorite dishes, causing a lopsided grin to appear on her face and wonder curiously if they were spoiling him just a bit.

The grin disappeared however as Ellie made a frustrated grunt and tossed an entire pot in the sink with all the contents still in it. Frowning she made her way around the counter and into the kitchen, startling Ellie as she stared at the stove, biting her lip.

"Everything ok Ellie?" Sarah asked her quietly, not wanting to startle her friend. It didn't work however as Ellie turned full circle and faced Sarah with wide eyes, breath hitched.

"Damn it Sarah." She cursed, alarming Sarah a little more as she never swore. "Don't sneak up on people. They generally don't like it." She scolded.

Sarah had the proper mind to be contrite at doing so, knowing already not to do that. It was a hard habit to break after a life time of training. "Are you alright?" She asked, ignoring Ellie's comment.

Ellie nodded her head for a second before stopping and shaking it no. Her face scrunched up and she covered her face with her hands as a sob broke through. Immediately Sarah closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her friend in a comforting manner as Ellie cried into her shoulder.

"It's going to be ok Ellie." She said quietly. Ellie pushed back from Sarah, her face a mask of anger, bright red with wet blazing eyes.

"No Sarah, it's not. It's not going to be ok." She bit out angrily.

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and bit her own lip for a second waiting for Ellie to continue, to tell her what wasn't going to be ok so that Sarah could tell her how she was wrong. But no words came forth from Ellie and they just stood in the kitchen for several minutes, staring at each other.

Eventually Ellie gave in, turning her back to Sarah in order to adjust something on the stove. She gave a great sigh and her breath hitched again. "I just feel like I've lost my brother again." She said. "But it feels much worse than the first time."

"I don't understand." Sarah replied. Ellie turned back to Sarah, a sad expression on her face.

"Before…before when Chuck had…" She took a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before she closed her eyes. "When he died, he was gone. It hurt, but I had to be strong."

"He's not dead Ellie."

"I know that! I know. At least, I think I know." Ellie confessed. Sarah narrowed her brow in confusion and leaned against the counter.

"I'm not understanding Ellie. Chuck is alive, he's downstairs. He'll be up here in half an hour." She said.

Ellie bit her lip again nervously, nodding her head. Sarah reached out to her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I know. It's just-"

"You don't know if he's really completely Chuck?" Sarah finished for her. Ellie didn't answer, but she didn't have to. "I can't say, with any degree of certainty that he hasn't changed Ellie. What happened to him…I don't even know what to say. But, Chuck has been through so much, not just now but through his life. I know he'll be ok."

"How? How can you be so sure?" Ellie sniffled. "I've raised him, I've seen him through so much and I have doubts."

Sarah smiled up at Ellie, placing a hand on the side of her face, a bright smile on her own. "Because he has us and we're not going to give up on him. Because we love him, because he needs us."

Ellie nodded her head, and brought a hand up to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. "I wish I had your confidence Sarah." She told her, turning away from her again.

Sarah let her go and watched her for a few minutes as she went back to fliting around the kitchen. With a final glance Sarah left the kitchen, and walked to the hidden wall that would lead her to the basement where they had Chuck at the moment.

Walking down the hall her gut fluttered in nerves and happiness. She was glad Chuck was coming back up to the living, to be amongst them. She was also nervous as hell as well. Now would be the full test on the mental damage done to Chuck, the more difficult part of his recovery.

Approaching the door, she looked up at the camera in the corner, but ignored it, noting that the door was slightly ajar. She pulled it open, blinking at the brightness of the room as she stepped inside.

"Sarah." A soft voice said and she looked to her right. Chuck stood in the corner there, his back flat against the side of it. Glancing around the room she noted that they were the only ones in there and she wondered where Devon and Orion was.

"Hi Chuck." She said lightly coming into the room a bit more. She walked up to Chuck leaving a few feet between them as he pressed himself into the soft wall behind him. Though Sarah did take note that he had a look of nerves more than fear now and a small nervous smile on his face, obviously still skittish about personal space. "Where's your dad and Devon?" She asked him.

Chuck looked into the camera in the opposite corner over her head and her gaze followed. "They, uh, didn't want to rush me."

Stepping out of the way as to not block his path Sarah waited for Chuck to exit, but he just stayed where he was. She waited a few moments, seeing if maybe he was testing her, making sure she wasn't going to stop him, but when Chuck showed no signs of moving Sarah tilted her head curiously.

"What's the matter Chuck?" She asked him. Sarah felt a shiver run down her body at the intensity of the gaze that Chuck gave her then but she didn't back away or break eye contact before he did.

Licking his lips, moistening them he broke the gaze with her to stare at the floor and Sarah felt her heart beat a few extra beats.

"I just, don't know what's out there." He admitted, sounding defeated.

Sarah gave a reassuring smile and closed a few more feet closer to him, and held out her hand to him. He stared at it for a moment or two before hesitantly taking it lightly in his own. Sarah closed her own fingers around his, stopping herself from grimacing at the bony feel of his own.

"How about we find out together Chuck?" She asked him, not moving for the door. She wanted the decision for him to leave to be his own.

Chuck stood there for several long minutes, holding her hand and alternating his gaze from their joined fingers to the door before nodding his acquiescence and took a step out of the corner. Sarah gave him an encouraging smile as he stepped up to where she was and they took several small steps together, Chuck stopping every few steps and leaning against the wall until they got to the door.

Once they got there Chuck stood before it for another couple of moments, seemingly frozen in place with wide eyes. Sarah could feel him shake slightly next to her, and knew that he was probably in complete terror at the prospect of leaving the tiny room. Even though it was a different one, Chuck had been locked up in a tiny room for a year and she could barely imagine what the world must look like to him right now.

Feeling him take a couple of steps back she held firm to his hand, not allowing him to go back in. Stepping in front of him, making him focus his entire attention on her and not what lie beyond the room.

"Hey, it's ok Chuck." She said soothingly. Chuck shook his head and took another step back, but she stopped him. "Look, if you want to go back, I won't stop you again. I want you to make the choice. But I'm here for you Chuck, ok? You can do this, we can do this. Together."

She felt Chuck's gaze once more intently on her as he appeared to analyze her words. She didn't know if it made an effect on him as he didn't show any outside change, but with a slight nod of his head, she got the message. They would go on.

They stopped right outside the door for a moment to allow Chuck to look up and down the empty corridor. She told him soothingly that the others felt he would be more comfortable if there were less people around. He smiled and gave a soft light laugh, making a crack about being a frightened deer. She laughed along with him though she knew it wasn't too far from the truth.

The trek down the halls and up the stairs to the kitchen took far longer than it should have, even putting in Chuck's skittishness into consideration. He was easily winded and by the time they had gone up two steps he was heavily leaning against the wall needing to pause before continuing. She suggested that she call someone down to help them, or in the very least Morgan but he would just shake his head no and keep going. Sarah berated herself for not considering how weak Chuck would be from his experience.

But soon enough they got to the other side of the door, and stood there. Chuck stared at the wooden panel, chest heaving in exhaustion, trying to get oxygen into his starved lungs. Sarah waited for him to take the knob and turn it but he turned to her and asked her if she could, his eyes wide.

She turned the knob slowly, and pushed the door opened. The kitchen was empty, and looked cleaner than it did when she went down. Sarah wondered how long she had been away that would allow Ellie enough time to clean the kitchen, but then again it was Ellie. Bartowski's cleaned when stressed and she was efficient.

As they took a few steps into the light from the window Sarah felt Chuck's entire body stiffen as he quickly stepped back into the passageway eyes closed tight. Sarah tugged his hand hard to prevent him from falling down the stairs.

"Chuck? Chuck what is it?" She asked him as his back hit the door, thankfully missing the open space and ripped his hand from Sarah's to cover his ears as he slid down to the floor. "Chuck?" She asked alarmed.

Feet came into the kitchen behind her and she turned slightly to put her hand up to stop them from coming closer, and then focused all her attention on Chuck. She shook slightly as he curled up into himself once more and Sarah berated herself for pushing him so hard to come upstairs.

Closing her eyes and counting to five, she shook the fear from her body and sat on her knees in front of Chuck, ignoring his aversion to touching to gently run her fingers through his short strands that had begun to grow in the past weeks since they rescued him. They stayed like that for a few moments, Sarah continuing to pet his head softly. Noticing the light on her hand Sarah turned her head slightly seeing the opened window, with the sun peeking out in patches and the light breeze coming in.

"Close the windows guys, and the curtains." She instructed. "We'll be out in a few minutes."

Everyone scattered to do as she told them, as she continued her administrations to her Chuck. About ten minutes later Chuck finally peeked out gingerly over his arm, reminding Sarah of that first night she had visited him after they rescued him, and gave him a genuine smile to keep him calm.

"Is it safe?" He asked her softly. Looking around once more, Sarah nodded her head and he lifted it a little higher allowing her to see more of his face.

"Are you alright Chuck?" She asked him concerned. Licking his lips again he nodded, and tried to stand up, leaning heavily against the door, but he couldn't manage. Sarah could only imagine how sore his legs must be with all this exercise.

Standing up herself, Sarah leaned down over him and placed her arms around him and helped him up. Chuck scrambled to get up faster and pushed her away from him slightly as he stood up straighter.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

Sarah held her arm out to allow him to pass from the kitchen into the dining room but Chuck just stood there staring at her for a moment before tentatively holding out his hand. She smiled brightly as she took it, gripping firmly once more before giving a slight tug to move him out again.

Everyone was seated at the table, looking worried as they came into the dining room. The table was laden with foods of different varieties, all Chuck's favorites with little space for actual plates. Sarah directed Chuck to the head of the table, pulling the chair out for him to sit before taking the seat next to him on his right.

Nobody spoke as they all just stared at each other, mostly at Chuck. Chuck however only had eyes on his sister, who had tears falling down her cheek silently next to him on his left. Sarah watched him lift his tired arm up to her face, his fingers slightly brushing at the tears before Ellie crumbled and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing him to her as close as possible.

Sarah's eyes widened as her body stiffened, ready to jump in if Chuck freaked out, but to her surprise he just closed his eyes and wrapped his own arms around his sister's. His shoulders shook as his tears mixed with hers and Sarah felt her own tears in the corner of her eyes sting as she watched the display.

Though she was jealous of course that Ellie got the first hug, that Ellie was the first to break down his walls, she was glad for her at the same time. Ellie needed this, this moment of normality in Chuck and Sarah was glad that Ellie got that.

They broke apart eventually, Ellie smiling brightly as she wiped the tears off Chuck's face and then her own, letting her hands linger on Chucks hair, face and shoulder, seemingly unable to let go of her brother.

"I'm glad your back Chuck." Sarah heard Ellie whisper as she grinned.

Dinner after that was a joyous affair. Everyone ate and laughed to their hearts content. Ellie had piled Chuck's plate up high with a little bit of everything though he barely ate. While Morgan was regaling Chuck with a story from the Buy More, which he had stopped working at but remained friends with the employees, Chuck placed his hand on top of hers that lay on the table. She eyed it surprised; looking up at him but his attention was fully on Morgan with his other hand in his lap.

Chuck tired quickly from the dinner. Sarah noticed him leaning back in the chair as his eyes began to droop sleepily. She glanced across the table, meeting Ellies eyes, and tilted her head towards Chuck, before darting her eyes to the hall behind him, indicating she was going to take him to bed. With an approved nod from his sister, Sarah stood up from her spot.

"Come on Chuck. Let's get you to sleep before you fall into your plate." Sarah said, pushing the plate from the edge of the table so he may use it for leverage. He gave her a grateful smile and allowed her to place her arm around his shoulders and help him up.

They walked slowly down the secluded hall, and she opened the door on the right first to a semi private bathroom across from his room and let him go in and get ready for bed.

Entering the room Sarah stood at the entrance for a moment, waiting for Chuck or to hear if he calls out for her while across the hall. Panic seized her for a moment as she thought about what she should do. She had been staying in his room for weeks now but she wasn't sure if she should stay in there now that Chuck was there. Would it be too forward of her to? Would he want his privacy? Or was he even ready to share a bed with someone else, being as he'd been on his own for so long.

She didn't get much time to really contemplate it as the door behind her opened and Chuck stepped out wearing a pair of black plaid pajama pants and a grey t-shirt with some nerd logo on it that she didn't get. She internally berated herself for not thinking to put the night clothes in the bathroom for him but was grateful that someone had thought of it for her, most likely Morgan.

Chuck walked slowly towards her, stopping at the entrance of the door and looked around the room. Sarah watched his face slacken and his eyes moisten as he took in everything around them.

"Is this a dream?" He asked as his brows narrowed. Sarah reached out to him, placing her palm against the side of his face and using her thumb to wipe away a stray tear that had escaped his eyes.

"No Chuck. It's real. It's all real." She told him.

Sarah let her hand drift down to his neck and shoulder, trailing down his arm until finally reaching his hand. She grasped it firmly and gave a gentle tug pulling him further into the room, gently shutting the door behind him. She backed up on the bed, bending her knees as she hit the side of it and kneeling on it, Chuck following suit as his own knees hit the side.

They stared at each other for several moments, Sarah wanting so desperately to lean over the few inches between them and kiss him. To place her lips on his and remember what they were like together before all this happened. But the sad expression on Chuck's face stopped her from doing so and instead she gave him a sidewise smile.

"Come on Chuck. Let's get some sleep." She said softly as she sat herself down from her kneeling position and pulling Chuck with her as she lay down. She didn't know what exactly would happen in the morning when they woke up, but she was exhausted, and she was happy, and she now had her Chuck back.

 **A/N: I'm back! sorry for the long absence. I'd explain but it terribly boring...but it does involve A LOT of video gaming. In case you're curious I'm replaying Final Fantasy 7 now. Man I forgot how awesome that soundtrack was. Anyways. Here you go. Hopefully next chapter isn't so long away.**

zanex9: Thank you!

phathead01: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Just reading your review i've realized that I have a lot to solve or answer *sigh* oh well, means more writing! YAY!.

wilf21: I'm aiming for it.

atcDav: Never trust anyone who has backstabbed you, especially multiple times! So don't feel too bad for them.

sevenre: I would but its kind of difficult to really feel much like that when you've dedicated your life to it. I'll have to think on that.

phnxgrl: thank you. I will.

charahkids: Love doesn't conquer all...therapy does.

Rob M (Guest): There are a lot of ways this story can go. And i've been out of it for so long now I don't even know what i'm doing so here's hoping!

Kaa'rri: Whats a little angst between friends? Thank you for the compliment! I really do appreciate it. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Nomadic Nerd: I know you're lurking around even if you don't review. Its all good.


	11. Chapter 11

**As always, thank you to charakids!**

Chapter 11.

A clash of lightning woke Sarah up from a surprisingly deep sleep. She bolted straight up in the dark and looked around the room for any signs of danger. When nothing presented itself she closed her eyes and sighed deeply, falling backwards back down upon the pillow.

She listened as her heart slowed down in her chest at the sound of the raining pounding hard on the windows as the drops came between the rustling trees. The sound of thunder crashed loudly ahead and she felt it deep in her chest as it vibrated around her.

She turned over, ready to fall back asleep, opening her eyes just a slit to check on Chuck only to find his side of the bed empty. Once again bolting up Sarah pulled the blanket off her quickly, about to get out of bed and go in search of him, but stopped at the darkened shape that sat in the chair by the window staring out into the darkness beyond.

Sighing with relief Sarah pulled the blanket back over her cold legs as she watched him as best she could in the dark, trying to gauge if he was awake and if he was, what could possibly be going on in his head.

"It's so loud."His voice flittered softly to her, startling her. She didn't think he had noticed she was awake, but then again she had made quite a bit of noise, much to her embarrassment.

"What is?" She asked him, just as softly. Chuck turned his head then and Sarah wished that she could see his eyes. See what was running through his mind.

"The rain." He said simply, turning back to the window. "I never realized how loud it was before."

She watched him for a few moments, listening to the rain as well before the exhaustion she always seemed to be feeling all the time now set in again. She closed her eyes for a moment, almost falling asleep before popping them back open to pat the bed next to her.

"Chuck, come back to bed. It's late." She said to him.

Chuck sat there for a few more moments, causing Sarah to think he didn't hear her, but before she could repeat herself Chuck got up from the chair and walked in the dark back around the bed. Laying down as she felt the bed dip slightly as he got in it, she sighed contentedly and waited for him to settle.

They both lay in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Sarah turned her head towards Chuck, seeing him staring in a daze ahead and a smile graced her lips at remembering the other day with Ellie and how she could practically hear her thinking. It was the same now, as it always had been with Chuck. It was as if his mind was so busy, so loud that she could practically hear it working.

"You're thinking too loud." She said lightly, her smile getting bigger as Chuck turned his head to look back at her.

"I'm sorry." He told her frowning. Sarah's smile fell from her face and she reached over to his gently, her fingertips lightly brushing the sides of his face where smile lines had once been so prominent. Chuck closed his eyes and it gave her a moments reprieve to study him in the dark, to finally get to look at him up close and what she saw caused her heart to ache.

She sniffled softly, as her eyes burned for tears to fall and Chuck opened his eyes again to look at her. Her mind was telling her to turn away, to wipe the tears that would escape and to not let him see her like that but her heart made her stop and just keep her eyes on his, seeing the deep sadness that was etched into their deep brown depths.

No words were spoken between them as they lay in the darkness.

The next few days went on much of the same. Chuck had elected to stay inside his bedroom, mostly sitting in the chair by the window staring out at the trees and patches of sunlight. Sarah had done everything she could to coax him out but aside from meals and the bathroom Chuck chose to stay where he was.

Devon explained that it was probably the transition from total isolation in a closed off environment to an open one that is causing Chuck to nest in the new room. Since Devon wasn't too concerned about it, and Ellie didn't seem to be either Sarah tried not to let the situation get to her, though it was hard. As long as it was his choice Sarah didn't feel that concerned just yet about his hermit habit.

Though really, Sarah was at a loss on what to do. He was free now and to see him back in some sort of captivity even by his own hands broke her heart, but at the same time, Chuck was opening up more to her. He spoke to the others in the house, except Jill who she wasn't even sure if Chuck knew was there, but it was always from the doorway. He acted somewhat skittish when others entered so they respected his privacy and stayed at the door which was usually kept open. Sarah however would walk into the room and sit on the bed without any comment from anyone. Chuck seemed to have adapted quickly to sharing a room with her to which she was glad, not being sure if she would be able to separate herself from Chuck's side again.

"Want to go outside today?" Sarah asked him again. It was the same thing she asked him every morning after coming back in from her shower once breakfast was over with and the kitchen had been cleaned. She would tidy up their room, make the bed and then sit there watching him for several minutes until he acknowledged her. In the past he had always said no, but today he surprised her when he agreed to.

"Not too far though right?" He asked her, face full of worry. Sarah gave him a comforting smile as she nodded.

"How about just to sit on the front porch? See a new view of the outside, get some fresh air?" She suggested excitingly as she went to the closet and brought out a box that held some new black and white converse for Chuck. "I'll see if Ellie will make some hot chocolate for us and we can sit there for a bit."

The walk from the room to the porch was a little better than the walk from the padded cell he was in to the dinner table just a week ago. His legs were still weakened from lack of use but he was getting stronger much to Sarah's delight even though he was still skeleton thin despite Ellies cooking and constant snacks she brought to him. They passed the kitchen on the way out to the back porch where a cushioned bench was and asked Ellie for that hot chocolate Sarah had promised.

Sarah grabbed a blanket from the couch as they headed outside. She paused next to Chuck at the opened door as he stared off at the great world beyond. She never really gave much thought to how big the world really was, but seeing the fear and wonder on Chuck's face as he braced himself to venture out of the safety of the walls that surrounded him, she was forced to finally feel and see what it must be like for him.

"Come on, let's get settled." Pulling slightly on his hand, she pulled him over the threshold of the cabin. She could hear his breath coming out more ragged as panic began to settle in, but she ignored it as she sat down on the porch bench and waited for him to follow suit.

Blanket laying over the top of them, tucked in, with their arms and fingers entwined, Sarah lay her head gently on his thin pointy shoulder and closed her eyes, listening closely to Chuck's breathing in harmony to the sounds of birds, animals and the trees that surrounded them. She felt at peace and happy for the first time in a very long time, and slowly she fell asleep, warm and safe next to Chuck.

Footsteps approaching them caused Sarah to wake up with a start, sitting up quickly from her relaxed position next to Chuck. She felt Chuck shift and a bump of their heads as cold air rifled her hair and the right side of her face as the sudden loss of his body heat hit her. Looking up at him, she smiled at the left side of his hair sticking up and the bleary 'just woke up' look that also rested in his eyes indicating that he too had fallen asleep, using her head as a pillow with his arm around her waist holding her close.

"Hey guys." Jill's voice startled them. "It's nice to see you out and about Chuck." She told them.

Sarah felt Chuck tense beside her as he held her closer to his side. Looking up at Chuck, Sarah saw his eyes go wide and mouth agape as in fear as the bench was slightly pushed back and towards the wall of the cabin behind them hitting it hard. Sarah placed her hand on his thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze as she turned her eyes back on Jill, using all her will power not to glare at her for interrupting their nap, or for interrupting the two of them in general.

"What do you want Jill?" Sarah asked her venomously. Jill looked taken aback for a moment before schooling her own features to a coy fake smile.

"I was just coming up from the lake and saw you guys sitting here. You don't have to jump down my throat Sarah." She replied.

"Maybe if you didn't go sneaking up on sleeping people Jill." She bit back.

"What are you doing here Jill?" Chuck's voice asked softly, stopping Jill from spitting out whatever retort she had thought of. "You, you shouldn't be here. You'll get caught."

Jill's scowl turned into a real smile as she leaned against the banister across from them. "I came to save you of course." She teased. "You don't think I'd let you stay in a government facility for the rest of your life do you?"

Chuck however did not return her light hearted smile as he frowned at her with narrowed eyes. Sarah bit back another retort to tell her to go away, something she's been doing since they retrieved Chuck, and allow him the chance to tell her whatever it was that he wanted to say. Though by the look Chuck was giving Jill, Sarah could tell that the other woman was starting to upset him.

"Thank you for helping me Jill, but…you really shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be out in the open." He told her. Jill's brows furrowed at that.

"You're one to talk Chuck. You have a kill order out on you, I don't." She said.

Sarah's heart stopped. She hadn't heard that, nobody had told her though she was well aware the whole time of the possibility.

"Where did you get that information from?" Sarah asked alarm, the blanket falling from her as she sat further up causing her to shiver as the cool air hit her body.

"From Bryce of course. He called in not too long ago." Jill replied, but Sarah didn't have any time to process the news as Chuck immediately stood up and ran inside without a backwards glance. Standing up from the bench Sarah gave Jill one last glare who just shrugged before following Chuck into the house, seeing him dart to the kitchen and through the door.

"What's going on? Everything ok?" Devon asked her as she passed him. Sarah ignored him, following Chuck instead.

"Chuck! Wait!" She shouted after him trying to catch up. She followed him through the basement door and down the hall to his former padded room that he had opened and quickly shut before Sarah could get to it.

Sarah stood on the other side of the door for a moment or two waiting, though for what she wasn't quite sure. The news that there was a kill order on Chuck wasn't really as surprising as she felt. It was expected after all. If they couldn't keep the thing that held all their secrets secure then the next best thing would be to terminate it so that nobody could potentially get to those secrets.

"Chuck?" Sarah said loudly, knocking on the door, though she didn't expect any response. Hearing footsteps she turned to see Orion coming out of the command center and approaching her with a grim look on his face. "What's happening?" She asked him abruptly as he approached her.

"He's in there in the corner opposite the door. What is he doing down here Sarah?" He asked her concerned.

Sarah let out an annoyed sigh and covered her face for a moment before letting her hands drop back to her sides. "We were out on the porch and Jill came up and she oh so kindly informed us of the official kill order on Chuck." She ground out angrily.

Orion closed his eyes for a moment as he nodded his head understanding. "It was just this morning. We were going to tell you Sarah."

"Then why didn't you?" She growled. "It would have been nice to know before hand and not being told by that…that…woman."

"I know. You were with Chuck all morning that's why." He told her in a placating way, though Sarah didn't feel it. She felt angry, she felt annoyed. She wanted to smash Jill's face in for her lack of tact, and maybe punch in a wall while she was at it.

"You still watching the surveillance videos?" She asked him to which he nodded in reply. "Mind giving us some privacy?"

"Sure, I'll go get something to eat." With that he reached out and patted her shoulder gently before walking down the hallway to the staircase that would lead him to the kitchen.

Sarah stood where she was for a few moments just breathing. Exhaustion was setting in on her yet again and all she wanted to do was take another nap, preferably with Chuck once more but she had to deal with this first. She had to calm Chuck down. Dealing with emotions as wild as Chuck's were at the moment was something that she'd never had to do before and she was nervous about what to do, but taking one last breath Sarah steeled herself and pulled open the door.

Just as Orion had said he was, Chuck was sitting in the corner, opposite the door, curled up tight like he had been when he was first brought in. The room was silent except for the sounds of his breathing and Sarah hated herself for being so grateful that he at least wasn't in full meltdown mode.

Walking further into the room, she left the door opened as she stepped closer to the love of her life, stopping right in front of him for a few seconds before dropping down to her knees and reaching her hand out to him.

"Chuck, why are you back here?" she asked him patiently. Chuck lifted his face from his knees to look sadly over at her, staring between her outstretched hand and her eyes.

"Because, I feel safe here." He said simply. Sarah nodded and swallowed, understanding though not liking it. Here nobody can see him. Here nobody could find him. Here nobody could get to him.

"I don't want you to be down here Chuck." She told him. "I want you upstairs, and outside, with the living, with others."

Chuck shook his head, hiding his face back into his knees. "I can't." He said muffled.

Sarah scooted closer to him, and ran her hand down the back of his head and back several times in a soothing manner. They sat like that for several moments, the quiet surrounding them while Sarah continued her administrations to keep him calm until Chuck lifted his face again to look at Sarah, his sad eyes meeting hers.

"Chuck, you're safe here." She told him assuring, and Chuck broke eye contact.

"You say that, but I don't feel it Sarah." He told her honestly.

Sarah's jaw dropped a bit as she worked it to make a reply but nothing came out, not even a sound.

"I don't even really believe that I'm actually here." Chuck said sadly.

Once again, as it kept doing whenever anything Chuck was involved, Sarah's heart ached for him as tears welled up. "I don't understand." She admitted to him as he bit his lip.

"I don't believe any of this is real. It's all in my head." He said with a sad smile. "This has to be the most realistic it's ever been, but maybe…maybe this just means that I'm finally crazy. That my mind has finally given up and is gone."

Sarah shook her head vehemently, reaching out for him and wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders, afraid to let go of him. "No, no, no. This isn't a dream Chuck. This is real. I'm real." She cried into his ears, feeling Chuck wrap his own arms around her waist.

"Don't cry Sarah. It'll be ok. If it's real or not I'm glad I'm here with you. You're all I ever wished for in that empty room. And it's kind of my mind to give me this. To give me a chance to hold you again, to kiss you again." Sarah felt moisture on her shoulder as Chuck took a shuddering breath. "I just hope the real you will get some kind of closure as well."

Sarah couldn't take it, couldn't hear Chuck talking the way he was. Pulling back from him she took his face in both of her hands and forced him to look directly into her eyes. Moving her head closer, closing her eyes for a moment she placed a kiss upon his lips, the first kiss she had allowed herself to have since she first rescued him. She let it linger for several moments before pulling back from him, looking deeply into his moistened eyes.

"Chuck this is real. All of this. You aren't crazy. You aren't stuck in a dream." She cried out, begging him to believe her. "I'm here with you. You're here, Ellie, Morgan, Devon your dad we're all here. We're all real! You have to believe me Chuck." She pleaded desperately at him.

Giving her a sad smile, Chuck placed his hands on top of hers. "I don't believe it Sarah. I can't."

"Why not? Why can't you believe this is real?" She shouted at him, and Chuck just shook his head again. She held her breath as Chuck leaned in to her, placing his lips on her now initiating the kiss this time. She closed her eyes and gave it her all as her nerves prickled and came alive for the first time in a very long time.

Too soon though Chuck pulled back and it took Sarah a moment to gain her senses back enough to open her eyes, staring back at him and his still sad smile.

"That's why Sarah." He said softly. "If I believe it's real, I'll wake up from it and I don't want to. I can't. I want to stay here, with you forever. "

"You can Chuck, because this is real. We got you out, we detoxed you. This is really me sitting in front of you in this crazy padded cell. You are no longer a prisoner except in your own head." A sob escaped her and she leaned her forehead against his. "Please. Please Chuck; what will it take to make you believe?"

Moving closer to her right against her, Sarah held on to him for dear life, afraid that if she let go of him than perhaps he would be right and everything was a dream. But he brought his lips over to her left ear, Sarah shuddering at the feel of his warm breath against her skin.

"Only in time." He said in a hoarse whisper before placing a kiss upon her ear. She shuddered again as she felt him trail kisses across her jaw before capturing her lips once more. She moaned into his kiss, giving back as much as he gave as she felt herself fall back upon the mattress floor, feeling the wonderful comfort of Chuck's weight on her once again.

 **A/N: Hope you liked it. I'm working on wrapping the story up. Don't worry, still a few chapters to go but to be honest...I really want to start writing original fiction. I've had a dream to be a novelist since 2nd grade and I think its time I start to focus on that. However I don't believe in unfinished stories so I'm working on this first.**

phnxgrl: Thank you for reviewing

zanex9: Thank you very much.

atcDave: Thank you!

sevenrez: Well, i wouldn't expect anything less from Sarah.

wilf21: Interesting though. I'm not sure how that would of gone. It would have depended on Ellies reactions towards him i would think.

supesfan18: I'm not exactly going that route I don't believe. But I have a few chapters left so we'll have to see how i feel.

uplink2: Thank you very much. They are a couple I am not embarrassed to say I have studied a great deal on.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to Charakids once again for reading through this.**

Chapter 12

Sarah woke up slowly to the soft touch of fingers brushing away stray hairs on the side of her head. She smiled gently as she turned further into the touch, wanting more of it. The hand stopped and rested upon her crown as the person leaned over her, blocking the bright light she was bathed in and placed soft kisses across her forehead and nose. She didn't want to open her eyes, just wanting to lay there in the somewhat chilled air of wherever she was languishing in the attention of her companion.

However a knock at the door brought Sarah back to reality as her eyes shot open, looking immediately into the soft brown eyes of Chuck. Unable to control herself Sarah reached her tired yet satiated arms up behind Chuck's neck and bringing him down into a deep passionate kiss that brought all of her sleeping body back awake. Time was lost on her as she pushed herself further into his embrace.

Until another knock brought them back to the present once more.

"Go Away!" Sarah shouted, going back to her administrations with Chuck, exploring his mouth, becoming reacquainted with every part of him once again. However the knock persisted and Sarah pulled back, her head hitting the mattress below her with a soft thump as she glared up at Chuck's amused grin.

"I'll go see who it is, while you get a little more decent." He suggested as he placed a last kiss on her temple, causing her to tingle.

Sarah watched him sadly as he tried to stand up and put his shirt back on, frowning at his state of dress compared to her lack thereof. Giving a final sigh she reached out for her shirt that he had placed next to her and begun getting dressed as Chuck cracked open the door.

"You guys need to come upstairs." Sarah heard Orion state to Chuck. Tugging up her pants quickly she almost ran to the door, shoving Chuck out of the way and opening it wider as she buttoned them up.

"What's going on? Did you hear from Casey?" She asked urgently, ignoring the amused grin that was plastered wide on Orion's face as he looked over the two of them. She blushed slightly at knowing he probably guessed what had happened and ran her fingers through her tanged hair, attempting to make herself look more together and less like she just got laid by her son.

"Yeah, he sent us a message. I think we have a plan on how to get the two of you off the government's radar for good." With that Sarah watched Orion give a final grin at the two of them and head back down the hall, leaving Sarah alone with Chuck once again.

Giving a glance at Chuck Sarah leaned against the padded wall next to the door and slid down it to sit on the floor. 'A way out?' She thought. It was the goal they were reaching for now that they had Chuck out of their custody but Sarah didn't expect it to come up so quickly. It had barely been a month since they've retrieved Chuck. It's barely been a week since he first left this cell. It's been less than…well, she didn't know what time it was or how long they had been down in the cell but it hadn't been long since they first learned of the kill order set out on him.

"Wow." Chuck said, standing next to her. Sarah looked up at him, having to tilt her head back as far as it could go to see him, her stomach fluttering at the sight of him and wanting to crawl up his body and place never ending kisses all over him.

Sarah nodded her head; it was a lot to take in. "Yeah, wow. You'll be completely free soon hopefully." She said as she lowered her sight as her neck twinge. However, it snapped back up at the sound of his laughter. "What?" She asked curious.

Chuck hunched down so they were now eye to eye and Sarah couldn't help the coy smile that came over her as she leaned over to kiss him again. Chuck however stopped after a second, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"I mean wow, I can't believe we just had sex in a padded cell. You think we can get the video for it?" He teased.

Sarah's jaw dropped as she mentally face palmed herself while physically smacking Chuck in the arm. He cried out in mock pain, pouting that she was abusive and that she had hurt his feelings, but another passionate kiss quickly quailed any thoughts of possible law suits he might try to mock threaten her with.

"Just met with General Beckman. She gave me a list of places they suspect Walker and Bartowski to be. I've been tasked to head up the search for them and proceed with extreme prejudice. I've sent the file. Come up with a plan and let me know."

Silence descended the dining room once Casey's message ended. Sarah gripped tightly to Chuck's hand as she stared ahead at the screen on the wall that held the files that Casey had mentioned. It looked like there were five locations, all out of the way, hidden, like the cabin they were currently in. Luckily it looked like none of the locations were anywhere near where they actually are. It appeared as if Beckman had just picked five random spots and chose those as the places to send Casey.

"So what exactly does he mean come up with a plan?" Ellie asked confused.

"I'm more concerned what proceeding with extreme prejudice means." Devon cut in.

"It means that they put a kill order out on Chuck and anybody who is in contact with him." Sarah said distracted. Orion handed her an iPad and she held it between her and Chuck so they could both look over it.

"Woah woah woah. A kill order? We could like die?" Morgan said eyes wide. Sarah just looked over the iPad at him and glared.

"You knew that when you got into this Morgan. You really shouldn't be so shocked." She berated him.

"On top of that Devon and I are technically already dead so there wouldn't be any heartache over that." Ellie added, standing up with her cup of tea and heading to the kitchen.

Sarah felt Chuck jerk at the comment as he stood up next to her and went to follow his sister into the kitchen, but Sarah stopped him, holding tightly to his hand. She felt him struggle for a moment, trying to release his hand from her grip but gave up quickly and sat down heavily in the chair he had just vacated. She sat down the iPad and placed her arm around his shoulders as he buried his face in his hands while his breath sped up.

"Chuck?" She asked gently, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "What's going on? Please tell me."

Chuck shook his head, face still covered with his hands. Sarah glanced up at the others, giving a slight tilt of her own head indicating that perhaps they should leave for now. Without another word the others got up from their spots, leaving the files on the screen and left Chuck in Sarah's capable care.

They sat in silence, time stretching out before them with no place to go. She didn't want to break it, she wanted him to come to her. To tell her what was wrong, what was going on in his head. Guessing what he was thinking wouldn't be that difficult but regardless, he needed to tell her, he needed to communicate with her.

"She can't be dead. Why would my mind do that to me? Do that to Ellie?" He said sadly, finally lowering his hands to look at her. Sarah swiped her thumb underneath each of his eyes, removing the tears that had fallen, sighing.

"Chuck, it's not your head. This is all real. Please believe me." She pleaded.

"It can't be real Sarah. It's not possible. I'm still in that tiny room, with the blank walls, high on whatever drug cocktail I'm being fed." He cried. "And I'm sure their forcing me into giving them the information they so desperately desire, but I don't care. Not anymore. I want to stay here. But why would Ellie be dead? Even deep inside my mind I'd only want the best for her. I'd want her living out in the world with Devon, making a difference and starting a family that she loves.

Is this some subconscious thing? Is this some information that somehow was leaked to me during an Intersect update? That my sister and her husband were dead, and my mind, for whatever reason decided that I should know about it? But that makes no sense."

"Chuck stop! This isn't a dream!" Sarah shouted turning him to face her. Once again placing the sides of his face in both her hands, forcing him to again focus entirely on her. "This is real Chuck. Everything here is real. I'm real, you're real, Morgan, Ellie, Devon, your dad…They're all really here Chuck."

Chuck shook his face free of her grasp and sat back in his chair. Sarah didn't like how distraught he looked over this. She didn't like finding out that Chuck didn't really believe that he was saved and that he was just a prisoner, although a happy one, inside his own mind. She didn't know how to convince him otherwise and she wished she had had more time to think on the situation between discovering it and being notified of this new development.

Her head shot to the left as footsteps approached from another room and Jill came in, giving an apologetic smile as she went into the kitchen to rinse out a mug. Sarah fought the urge to scowl at her to get lost when a thought ticked in her head, as she stared at Chuck waiting for Jill to leave.

Leaning over next to him, elbows on her knees, she looked up at him through her lashes and schooled her face not to show the grin that was coming out.

"Seriously Chuck, if this is a dream, why is Jill here?" She asked him. Chuck's eyes widened comically as and she could see him thinking on that thought. "Should I be jealous Chuck?"

"NO! No no no." He said hurriedly, grabbing her hands in his. "No you're the only girl for me Sarah. I can't even fathom what she would be doing here aside from some unresolved issues that we may or may not have that is lurking deep in my mind."

Not able to stop it anymore, the grin she was hiding came out and she leaned forward and placed a comforting kiss on his lips to stop him from babbling any further. It lingered for a few moments before Sarah broke it off and sat up again.

"Now do you believe me?" She asked him warily. Chuck narrowed his eyes at her and Sarah's heart pattered hoping the answer was yes.

"Tell me why Ellie said they were already dead." He said simply. Relieved that he appeared to at least be giving the notion of this all being real.

Sometime later, everyone gathered around the dining room again. Ellie had made dinner and everyone was happily eating the meatloaf and mashed potatoes with furbish. Sarah wondered how she ever ate before Ellie came along, because food, no matter where in the world she was, had never tasted as good as anything Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb had ever made.

They were discussing the best options on the opportunity that Casey had presented to them and so far everyone was in agreement on some aspects, but not all.

"No, absolutely not. Chuck cannot go to a location. He has to stay here." Ellie argued taking a drink of her wine.

"But they need him as proof that he's dead, or that he was there." Devon argued.

"Don't I get a say?" Chuck pipped in.

Sarah padded his hand that was next to hers on the table gently "Of course you do sweetie." She told him soothingly before turning to everyone else. "I'm with Ellie, he's not going anywhere."

"I know!" Morgan said lifting his fork with a piece of meatloaf still pronged. "You, have a 3D printer right Mr. B? I can go in as Chuck!"

Everyone at the table groaned at the horrible idea except for Chuck who laughed out loud, causing Sarah to grin happily at the sound. She loved to hear him laugh. It had been so long since he really had, since she heard it and she vowed to hear it more.

"Right Morgan, and how are you going to do that? You'd look like a little kid playing dress up in his clothes." Ellie muttered mildly into her glass.

"Hey, I can pull it off right Chuck?" He asked his friend.

Sarah cocked her brow at Chuck amuse at the vigorous nodding from Chuck. "Oh yeah buddy, if anyone could pull of a Chuck Bartowski it totally would be you man."

"Alright bro, gimmie some love" They both stood at that point and awkwardly bumped fists in some kind of mock gangster handshake.

Keeping her eyes on him as he sat down he gave her a devilish grin, with his own raised brow as if daring her to say something about how uncool he truly was. But of course she wouldn't, she couldn't. She knew he wasn't cool and it entertained her to no end to watch him interact with his less cool friend.

Sarah just shook her head and turned back to her plate, not justifying anything that she wanted to say to him at the moment. She'd save it for later when they were alone, hopefully in their bedroom instead of a padded cell this time.

"In any event Morgan, thank you for offering to pretend to be my son for this but unfortunately, that will not work. And it has nothing to do with your size." Orion said. "For this to work, I'm afraid Chuck is going to have to be there."

Chuck raised his hand tentatively much to the laughter of those around him. "Yes Charles." Orion called on.

"I don't want to leave dad." He said. Sarah placed her fork on her plate and reached into his lap to hold his hand.

"Charles-"

"No, dad, I can't. I'm sorry I can't leave. I have to stay here. You're stuck with what most parents fear dad, I'm staying home and probably for a very long time."

"You can't ask him to do this dad. He's barely been out for a week. Physically he's not up for it and mentally and emotionally…well…" Ellie trailed off as everyone looked towards Chuck who just shrugged. Sarah agreed with her. She wasn't sure if Chuck was mentally up for what this would entail.

"I know its hard sweetheart, but this one act will guarantee his freedom and Sarah's for the rest of their lives." Orion argued. "Yeah they'll still be in hiding but they won't have the government hanging over their heads everywhere they go. They won't have to live in such fear of being found out."

Silence decided upon the table as everyone sat staring at their plates, letting the last words permeate in their own heads. Sarah knew Orion was right. This was the best move for not only her and Chuck but for everyone. If the world thought they were dead they would be left alone and the others would be safe. If they didn't do this then the government would forever keep looking for Chuck and place the others at risk. If something happened to his friends because they were with him, or associated with him, Sarah didn't think Chuck would be able to recover from that. That would be too much for him, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

But she could sense his fear as he sat next to her. She could sense Ellie's fear, and Morgan. Everyone was afraid because they knew what she knew, what Chuck knew. He wasn't ready for this. It was far too soon. It had only been the previous day that Sarah had finally, after a week of asking gotten him out onto the front porch. And that was barely on the porch, he had stayed close to the wall of the cabin, never venturing out of arms reach of it, as if it would disappear if he wasn't able to grab hold of it in a pinch.

Prior to that he was locked in a room, whether it was in the cell downstairs or the concrete one provided by the government with no view or contact to the outside world. He had been isolated, physically, emotionally. The world was gigantic and as he had said that first night when she woke up seeing him sitting by the window, he had forgotten how loud the rain was.

However they didn't know if this opportunity would pop up again and she was afraid to let it go. Afraid that Chuck would miss his chance of complete freedom because he was scared, because they were all scared about how he would handle it, on what effect it would have on him. But like before, when she thought he would be completely insane, and odds were still in his favor on that front, she would be with him. Always and forever she would stay by his side and as long as they were together she knew they could do anything.

"I think we should do it." Sarah said breaking the silence. Ignoring the others she turned in her chair to face Chuck directly. "I know what you're thinking Chuck-"

"No Sarah, I don't think you do." He stated not looking at her.

Sighing Sarah closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing for a moment before opening them again. "You're right Chuck, I don't really know. I can guess but I don't know. I can't know unless you tell me."

"What does that have to do with anything right now Sarah?" He asked her, finally looking at her. She could see the panic in his eyes as he fidgeted in his seat.

Sarah nodded her head, more to herself than to anyone else before turning back to her plate. "You're right Chuck, we can discuss this later when we're alone."

"How about we discuss this now since you obviously want to." He bit out angrily, startling everyone.

"Chuck honey, what's wrong?" Ellie asked concerned from across the table.

"You, all of you. I know what you're thinking. I know what you want." he stated. "You think I should do this. That it's the best chance for us, and you're right. It is. There's no if, ands, or buts about it."

Sarah reached out for his hand again but he pulled it away and placed it forcefully on his bouncing legs. "Chuck-"

"I can't do it Sarah. I can't go out there, and do this. Aside from the complete and utter fear that I feel right now making me want to throw up at the prospect of leaving this place, of being out in the open, at the sounds, the sights, the air, everything…I can't do this."

"You can Chuck because I'll be with you." Sarah countered.

"And what if something happened to you?" He shouted. "Did you think of that? No plan is foolproof, even one involving the great Orion and Col John Casey, NSA assassin extraordinaire."

"Chuck, in case you've forgotten buddy, your lady here is also a trained assassin." Morgan cut in, but everyone ignored him.

"If something were to happen to you Sarah-"

"It won't Chuck because I won't let it. We'll be careful and everything will be planned. Nothing will go wrong." She said desperately.

They sat in silence as the last words hung in the air. Sarah wanted to say more, to plead more but she wasn't sure what she could say to make any of this better. Finally Chuck stood up, placing his napkin next to his barely touched plate and stepped around his chair pulling it in and leaning against the back of it.

"Fine, I'll do this. Plan everything, check everything, and make sure nothing could go wrong. Just be aware though, if something does, and you don't live Sarah, than neither will I. So be sure you know what you're doing, because if you die, I refuse to live."

With that Chuck gave Sarah a final look before turning away from her and headed down the hallway behind them, leaving Sarah staring at the empty spot he was just in, her heart beating rapidly.

'Don't freak out.' She told herself.

A/N: Another chapter. Only 2 more to go. Well...maybe 3. I'm debating an epilogue. It makes me sad cause I feel like I'm leaving the world of Chuck fanfic and I love it here, and you guys have been so amazing in your reviews. But we must all move on at one point and I feel its my time.

charahkid: I'm saddened too.

atcDave: Good, Jill's an ass

Rob M (Guest): Thank you very much! I do try.

wilf21: I'll tell you now you're probably be disappointed in the ending. It's already written and I quite like it but...

zanex9: They'll get a happy ending

phnxgrl: She is a horrible person.

sevenrez: I think I would believe like him, where it was all a dream and I'd gone crazy. But how long can ones mind hold that together?

phathead01: Oh! I'm so going to miss your reviews! I'm so sad to leave, but I've been so focuses on fanfic and not my own stuff and I need to do the opposite.

supesfan18: Thanks!

uplink2: Yeah...Plot hole. i didn't think that one through very well. Kinda regretting it.

Nomadic Nerd: Oh don't make me cry! *sobs*


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you charakids for being my beta. And thank you for all the reviews!

Chapter 13

Sarah stood outside the door of the bedroom she shared with Chuck. After his final words before departing she thought it best to give him some space, and herself time to think. Dinner after that was tense as people finished their meals in silence. She helped Morgan clear the table and do the dishes, allowing the others to scour over the documents that Casey had sent over to them.

They came up with a plan. One that everyone appeared to be satisfied with and felt would be easily successful. But still, Sarah's nerves felt raw as her mind wheeled over and over what Chuck had said. She wasn't entirely sure what he was implying but whatever it was she was sure she didn't like it.

"You can come in you know." Chuck's muffled voice said through the closed door. Sarah looked up in surprise at the wood in front of her. Steeling herself she held her breath as she reached out and turned the knob, opening the door slowly.

Blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted from the dark of the hall to the light in the room via a lamp on the right of the bed, Sarah focused on Chuck who sat once again in the comfortable chair that sat by the window.

"You live in here too, you don't have to linger outside the door all night." He told her softly.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted my company." She replied as she closed the door behind her.

Chuck gave her a wane smile and shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. "I'll always want your company Sarah. Don't you know that by now?" He asked her.

Not answering Sarah walked further into the room towards him, sitting on the end of the bed across from him. Nothing was said between them as they sat in a comfortable silence. Talking was never Sarah's strong point, she would freely admit that, she especially had closed up even more in most regards but she had opened up in others, especially after getting fired by the CIA and Ellie coming to the cabin.

"We need to talk." Sarah started delicately. She watched Chuck tilt his head slightly to the side indicating that he was listening as she took a deep breath and focused her thoughts. "What you said at dinner-"

"I meant." Chuck interrupted. Sarah's shoulders slumped as her eyes widened.

"Chuck, no. That is so not-"

"Your decision to make."

"Well it isn't yours either Chuck." She said annoyed. She stood up from her spot and walked the few feet behind Chuck to the closet and stared at the door for a moment. She didn't like the direction this conversation was going. It wasn't what she wanted at all, and even more so she was alarmed at how calm and collected he was.

"Please come sit down Sarah." Chuck asked her. The idea of ignoring him and just standing with her back to him sounded appealing to her but she relented and turned back to where she originally sat.

"I don't like you threatening your life Chuck. Never do that." She ground out.

"What would it matter? You won't be here Sarah. The only way I would do anything would be if you weren't here anymore. That is a world I don't want to live in. I can't."

Covering her face with her hands in frustration Sarah fought the urge to scream really loud and possibly throttle Chuck for his stupidity. He didn't seem to understand what he was saying and it scared her to death especially with his earlier revelation of not believing any of it was real to begin with. Lowering her hands into her lap she scooted as close to Chuck as possible without falling off the bed and reached out for his hands. She gripped them tightly in her own as her sinuses burned with unshed tears. She let out a stuttering breathy laugh at how much she'd cried over the past year.

"That's not practical Chuck. At some point, it is possible that one of us, that I will get hurt, or sick and could possibly die. You can't just stop living because of that. It's not practical." She explained as calmly as possible.

"I know that Sarah. But, what good is my life if you get caught killed because of me. You shouldn't have rescued me Sarah, you shouldn't have put your life in such danger. Surely you must know that I would have wanted you safe and happy. It was the one thing that really kept me…" Sarah watched him as he struggled for the word. Safe, sane, happy? Those would have been good words to use if any of them had been remotely possible.

"It was my choice Chuck, as is this." She told him, swallowing her fear and anxiety as she brought up the real point of the conversation. "I know you're scared about the prospect of getting caught again Chuck, of one of us getting hurt, but the opportunity that Casey has presented to us is an amazing one that we cannot afford to pass up on, no matter how scared or what the risk."

"But how can you say that?" Chuck protested. "How can you judge the severity of the situation?"

"Because Chuck, I'm a trained agent and this is what I do. We've looked at it from all angles and we've planned for just about anything." She told him honestly, but she could still see fear and doubt in his eyes. "Do you remember Tyler Martin? That rock star?" She asked.

Chuck smiled at the memory of the punk rock drugged out little man that had been an unknowing pawn in a terrorist plot, and so did Sarah. As annoyed and concerned she had been about Chuck during that time because of his weird behavior she couldn't help but be thankful to Tyler for what he did for Chuck.

"When we needed to capture the terrorist that was after him, and you went in to talk him into getting on stage and performing you told him that for one night of bravery, he could have a lifetime of freedom." Wiping away the stray tears that tumbled down her cheek, Sarah got off the bed and kneeled in front of Chuck. "Well it's the same. One day of risk for a life time of freedom. You and I after this will be free from everything. We won't have to fear so much, we can live out our lives how we want, together."

Sarah closed her eyes as Chuck ran his fingers through her hair, leaning down to place kisses on her temple and finally down the side of her face to her lips. She opened her mouth inviting him in, allowing him full access as she poured herself into it, letting everything melt away except for them and then kiss. She felt Chuck nudge her back slightly as he slipped out of the chair and kneeled in front of her as well, deepening the kiss and pressing herself flat against his thin body. Everything felt amazing as her body woke up and responded to his touch, his presence, his kiss.

Lying in bed sometime later Sarah had her head on Chuck's chest, listening to his heart beat as he plays with their entwined fingers. Her body felt happy and her mind felt at peace and while she was tired the exhaustion that always seemed to permeate throughout her entire form on an almost daily basis seemed to have dissipated.

"You know Chuck, we can't keep doing that." She said lightly, looking up at him, mirroring the satisfied grin on his face.

"I don't know, it's been a year so we kind of have to make up for lost time don't we?" He replied coyly, shifting himself to sit up and lean over to place a kiss on her but Sarah just laughed and flicked him on the nose. "Owie, I'm wounded now." He said sitting up.

Taking the blanket with her, Sarah sat up as well, sitting up facing him as he rubbed the spot on his nose that she had flicked, rolling her eyes at his attempt to make it sound worse.

"I meant that when we're in the middle of a serious discussion or talking about a serious issue you can't just kiss me and then have sex with me. It's not going to work forever you know. I'm on to you now." She warned, poking him in the chest. Chuck grabbed her finger in his and shoved it between his teeth playfully, making her screech. "Chuck!" She said pulling her finger away from him.

"Sorry!" He said. Sarah shook her head at him, knowing how not sorry he actually was but letting it drop. She took the moment after to just study him. To study his unruly hair that was growing out again, to his white almost translucent chest with sparse dark hairs. She made a decision in her mind to get him out to the lake soon and let him get some sun. She missed his tanned skin.

Her smile falling slightly, her mind went back to what needed to be done before they could even consider doing something like that, something as simple as going down to the lake for some much needed relaxing in the sun. She wanted to broach the subject with him again but knew he would try to dodge it again but it had to be discussed. He had to understand that they needed to do this.

"I know what's going on in your head Sarah, you don't have to hide it from me." He spoke, causing her to jump slightly. She didn't think she was that far inside her head but apparently she was.

"You always did know how to read me Chuck. The only one. I still don't know how you do it." She told him looking down at the blanket wrapped around her. The bed shifted slightly and Sarah looked up to see Chuck close the few inches that had rested between them and kiss her. She closed her eyes loving the feeling before biting his lower lip a little harder than necessary and pushing him away with a grin. You're doing it again."

Chuck didn't look abashed as he cheekily grinned back at her. "I can't help it. I just like to be with you. And you just present the best opportunities." He leaned over again but Sarah stopped him, as much didn't want to.

"We really need to talk. We don't have much time." She intoned. She watched Chuck roll his eyes and scoot away from her, instantly making her miss his closer presence as he leaned against the headboard.

"Ok then. Talk. What is the big plan?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't Chuck, just…hear me out ok. I know your point, you've made it clear and even the points you haven't verbalized I know that too." She told him.

"You don't know anything about my fears." He replied, causing Sarah to frown further at his hardened voice. The feeling to just drop the whole thing was strong but she knew she had to be the stronger one. They were bound to fight at some point and it might as well be over this if it gives them freedom.

"You're right Chuck, I don't. I can guess but I don't know what all you fear or what all you are thinking, and I'd ask you to explain it but I have a feeling it will just lead to sex again and you know I'm not going to be able to say no to you then."

"Good then lets skip all this talk and get to that then." He suggested, his smile jumping back to his face. Sarah signed in frustration again and made a mental note to talk to Ellie about the possibility of some kind of imbalance to Chuck's moods in relation to the forced drugging he had been subjected to.

"Let's talk about this first." She told him. "We, well, I won't force you to participate in this op Chuck. "

That appeared to have surprised Chuck. "You won't? Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because I feel you've had enough of people forcing you into doing things you don't want to do. And while, true in life you'll always be in some sort of situation like that, just because that's how life is, I feel…I want you to be able to make your own life decisions." She explained.

They sat in silence for a few moments, bumps rising on her skin as Sarah felt Chuck's gaze analyzing her and her words. She could tell he was apprehensive of them and it hurt her to know that but after all he's been through, even with her, Sarah couldn't fault him for his cautiousness. As he licked his lips to moisten them Sarah had to turn her gaze back to the bed to control herself from jumping on him, finally figuring out that Chuck got the sex distraction technique from her.

"So if I decide…that I don't want to participate in this mission, then you won't make me?" He asked her slowly. Sarah looked back up to meet his gaze and nodded her head.

"That's right." She said. "But that doesn't mean I won't do everything in my power to convince you to Chuck."

Chuck tiredly leaned back against the headboard again and this time Sarah did crawl the few feet between to snuggle up next to him.

"I know this is a lot in a very short amount of time Chuck, but we don't have much time and I truly feel that this is important and we should do it." She told him honestly.

Sarah laid her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his thin waist. Closing her eyes she just concentrated on the feel of his skin and the heat that came off it. The feeling made her feel drowsy and sleepy and she could feel herself falling into a light sleep as Chuck's arm snaked around her waist to hold her as well.

"I don't know if I can do it Sarah." Chuck said, his faint voice bringing her fully back to the land of the waking.

"I know Chuck. But the reward for it so great." She told him.

"Our freedom."

"Yeah, our freedom. To do whatever we want Chuck. Well…within reason of course, but we won't have to look over our shoulders every second of everyday because they'll all think we're dead. We'll get new identities and we'll go find some small town or some large city and blend in with your sister and Devon. You'll have Morgan and your dad too. Anything is possible Chuck."

Reaching up to his chin Sarah turned his face so that she could look into his eyes, to see what he was thinking. What she saw was fear and sadness, but also hope, and she knew that hope was for a life happy and pain free.

"A moment of bravery for a lifetime of freedom, it does sound like a beautiful thing." Chuck told her. "We can start a life, one that is together. Like a normal couple."

"Isn't being normal overrated? At least that's what you keep telling me." She teased, touching her forehead to his.

"If I do this, and we survive it, I want you to do something for me." Chuck whispered to her. Sarah looked up through her lashes at him.

"Anything." She told him honestly, and she meant it. Chuck pulled back from her, his eyes narrowed as he gazed into her eyes.

"I want you to marry me."

Sarah lied awake that night unable to sleep. Her mind was reeling from everything that had happened all day. From getting the communication from Casey to the ending of it which ended with a marriage proposal and the greatest sex of her life.

Chuck fell asleep promptly after to which she was grateful for. In the time after they got together before he was taken, and even before that on cover sleep overs she had always enjoyed the chats they had together as they lie in the darkened bedroom waiting for sleep to come. She had always felt protected in the cover of night to be honest, fully honest or at least as honest as she, as an agent of the CIA and stunted emotionally human being could be.

They had continued the tradition in the past week, kind of. Chuck being more exhausted easier though he spent almost all his time in his room. But tonight she was grateful he had fallen right asleep because her mind was speeding and her heart was pounding and she wasn't sure if it was entirely of fear or excitement.

She had never really thought about getting married before, at least not before Chuck. A few times she had dreamt of their wedding day and a couple times had dreams of them having kids, but she never spent too much time on the thought. Before there didn't seem to be any end to the Intersect project and she feared Chuck would be a ward of the government for the rest of their lives. She didn't allow herself to hope and dream of a future past immediate needs and wants with him, though she did find herself wanting more and more of a future as time went on. Now it seemed like she was getting everything she never wanted and couldn't wait to have it all.

Sitting up in bed Sarah looked down to her right, making sure Chuck was still soundly asleep, Sarah slipped out of bed, pulling on random clothes as she headed for the door and quietly slipped out deciding a cup of tea may settle her mind.

However exiting the hallways she was surprised to see Ellie sitting at the table, flipping through a stack of folders at the dining room table. Sarah thought about backtracking to the bedroom and just lying in bed but decided against it. Ellie was her best friend and soon to be sister-in-law and if there was anyone she could talk to about her feelings it would be Ellie.

"Hey you." Sarah said as she approached Ellie. Ellie looked up from the stack of papers and smiled at her. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Just going over some medical reports that my father printed out regarding Chuck." Ellie replied tiredly. "They really did a number on him, but at least they documented it well."

Sarah came up to the table and pulled the chair out across from Ellie out and sat down grabbing the top file. Opening it the page had a bunch of abbreviations and numbers but it wasn't anything Sarah could decipher.

"Is there anything we should be really worried about?" Sarah asked closing the folder and looking up at her friend concerned, but Ellie shook her head, closing her own file in front of her.

"No, well yes and no. We should be concerned, about everything they did to him." She said taking the folder in Sarah's hand and placing it back on the stack. "Short term he seems ok. He's communicative, he's stable for the most part. Long term though, we don't know what the damage will be if any and that's what I'm more concerned.

Sarah nodded her head in understanding though she wasn't quite sure if she did. She wasn't a medical expert and therefore had no idea what real long term problems this whole ordeal can or will cause. She had a sudden flutter of fear of being left alone to deal with it and she was scared about if she'd be able to or not. But the notion was ridiculous and somewhere in Sarah she knew it. Ellie would always be close at hand. Maybe not in the same house as they are now but she had no doubt that Ellie and Devon weren't going to be too far away from wherever Sarah and Chuck will end up.

"Hey, are you ok?" Ellie asked her concerned, bringing Sarah back to the present.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sarah shuddered out in a breath. "Just a moment of you know…fear. Fearing what could be wrong with Chuck."

"It'll be ok Sarah. I always believed it. He has you, and me, and all of us." Ellie soothed, reaching out to squeeze Sarah's hand comfortingly.

"That's good, that's really good Ellie, because we're going to need you. Especially afterwards." Sarah said, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"What's happening after?" Ellie asked looking confused.

Sarah thought for a moment about lying to her, about coming up with some other reason for why they will need her but she couldn't. She wanted to tell someone, she wanted to tell her best friend, and she wanted someone else to be happy with her, and maybe, if she were honest with herself, be a little girlie about the whole thing as well.

"Chuck agreed to go through with the plan. I explained it all to him and he said he would do it. After however…" She paused for a second, her mind and heart reeling, fighting with each other over the truth or not until finally whatever came out would come out. "He asked me to marry him and I said yes."

The next thing Sarah heard was a loud screech that startled her from across the table and then arms being flung around her strangling her.

"We're going to be sisters!" Ellie chanted over and over again rocking her back and forth. Sarah smiled as she tried to get Ellie to stop before she accidently got strangled, but the other woman finally stopped on her own, sitting down in the chair next to Sarah and grabbing a pad and paper. "We have so much to do! We need a dress, and flower, food. It'll obviously be a small wedding-"

"Wow...Ellie, calm down. We have time, and he only asked tonight." Sarah said laughing at her friend whose smile could blind and already blind man.

"I know I know, but…this is my little brother, and you're my friend." She stuttered as the waterworks began. "And I just want you two to be happy and together."

"Hey babe, what's the matter?" Devon's voice boomed quietly as he entered the dining room and approached them. "

"Sarah and Chuck are getting married!" Ellie announced happily, still furiously writing on her notepad.

"Really? Congrats sis!" Devon said leaning over her and giving an awkward bear hug that had Sarah flailing around a bit.

"Honey, put her down, you're hurting her." Ellie said sounding distracted. Devon released her and gave her a pat on the head before placing a kiss on Ellies cheek and saying goodnight.

Sarah sat in silence for a few minutes, not quite sure what to do. Ellie seemed to be in her own world as she planned the wedding of her dreams for Chuck. She wondered if perhaps she should cut in and give some input, after all it was her wedding too but decided against it. She wasn't really a planning kind of girl, she never had a dream about any sort of wedding for herself even as a little girl growing up. Not even while she was falling in love with Chuck did she really dream of a wedding, just being married to him.

"You know…I'm kind of tired Ellie, am I needed for this?" Sarah asked starting to stand up. Ellie didn't even look up from her paper as she waived Sarah away and she headed back down the hall to the room she shared with Chuck.

She entered the dark room just as silently as she left, pulling the clothes off she had just put on and then crawled back into bed, curling up against Chuck who didn't even shift, and with a smile she closed her eyes and finally went to sleep.

The a/n is a little ran so you don't have to read it.

 **A/N: So I know I typically do personal thank yous on reviews but I couldn't bring myself to do them this time. You guys are so sweet and I've struggled so much. I know a lot of people just think that this is 'stupid fanfic' and its really nothing, but to us, you and me, we know different. This is a community where fan's of whatever come together and extend the universe to see our faves in different situations that weren't available in cannon.**

 **I've been reading fanfic since 1999 starting with The X-Files and it has been a huge part of my life ever since then. I struggle with myself and trying to explain to others outside that yeah, I'm not reading a real published book but I'm reading. And I read A LOT. It hurts when they say "yeah but that's not real reading." Cause I feel it is. People, like me, are writing books, and novellas. Yes, I can't make any money off it, but that doesn't make it any less substantial than anything you'd find on Goodreads. According to them, I didn't meet my book quota I set for myself this year, but you know what, I did. I surpassed it. How? Because I read fanfic, a lot of it. Because I believe and I support these writers. Through fanfic I've written 9 books. 9. And that's just what's on here. (I've written 5 backstreet boys fanfics and to my embarrassment 2 twilights. No you cannot read them)**

 **Because of fanfic, writers and readers I wouldn't have gotten to this story. You're reviews, your encouragement, your taking the time to read my writing has furthered me in my writing. It has improved my techniques and story developments. I've always wanted to be a published novelist and ya know what, I am. This is published, this is read by real people.**

 **The only reason I said I was getting out of fanfiction writing was because my friends, in the real world, none of which reads fanfic said if I wanted to be a serious writer I needed to stop living in this world and live in the real one and focus on original work. It sounds stupid but I've been struggling for over a month, if not longer over this idea, that I need to get out and I'm so pathetic, yes I've cried over it. I cried like a little bitch because I felt like I was being forced out of something I loved to do. To read and to write.**

 **This seems like a long rant but it's something that's been on my mind forever, for many years. There are so many talented writers on this site, and everywhere else that publishes fanfiction that it sucks that others who aren't in this world, and fanfic is its own world whether you believe it or not, who laugh and scoff and mock this form of writing. But I've found in my travels online that fanfic, no matter what fandom it is, brings very passionate people, very accepting people. More so than actual published books.**

 **So here I'm making my declaration that probably isn't necessary but I feel it is because of the hard struggle I've had over the years.**

 **I'm Melissa (Missy) and I'm a fanfic addict. I read it, I write it, yes I'm lazy on reviews but I love it, I accept it, and I support it. I'm not ashamed anymore to admit that fanfic is probably over 75% of my yearly reading, and if you don't support it, than phooey on you and shut up.**

 **OK. Rant's over. Next chapter I have no idea, cause i wrote it as an ending and I REALLY like the odd turn it did but I don't think others will like it unless i write more after it and I haven't got anything planned.**

 **I'm so sorry I put you all through this and those who follow my work know I'm typically an on scheduled person. But as you can see from my rant, I've been struggling.**

 **LOVE YOU ALL!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you once again to charakids for being a fantastic Beta for me.**

 **Last chapter folks. I struggled about re-writing it and doing something different but I felt this was an easy end and I liked it.**

Chapter 14

'4 days later'

So far everything was going according to plan, for the most part. It had been tricky getting Chuck out of the cabin, but a little coaxing with some Xanax and they had been able to get him in to the car and easy to deal with after that.

They had acquired another car once they got close to the location they had chosen, and Chuck with Sarah had driven the rest of the way alone while the others hung back at a secondary location to monitor everything.

They had sent Casey a message letting them know of the plan and they knew he was in route to the location a few days after they had settled in.

The plan was simple, they were to wait out until Casey and his troops arrived. Once they were at the location, which turned out to be a house in the middle of nowhere, Sarah and Chuck were to take some drug that Orion had synthesized with Devon and Ellies help to knock them out and slow their hearts down enough to simulate death. They had been taking blood from both Sarah and Chuck for a few days previous and it was to be used to spray around the room in the appropriate pattern creating a scene of a murder suicide.

Casey's troops were to descend upon the property, surrounding it so that nobody will be able to escape. Storming the house, they would come upon the back room where Sarah and Chuck was staged and there, Casey will identify them as the marks, taking samples of hair, blood, and fingerprints for DNA confirmation before ordering everyone out of the building, to start heading out and then ordering a drone to come and take out the property, effectively destroying any physical evidence of the only human intersect. Though with Chuck's death there wouldn't be any information to obtain but according to Casey, per General Beckman, they were concerned of others getting their hands on Chuck's brain and studying it in order to replicate what Chuck had been able to do.

They had to stop it, therefore, Chuck's body will be destroyed and Sarah's along with it.

Once all the troops had left the house, Devon, Morgan, and Orion would slip in through a secret passageway into the back room and collect Chuck and Sarah onto a gurney and rush them out through a tunnel that was under the house running off the property a mile away by a stream. The tunnel would have already been scouted by Casey and deemed unusable and unstable and therefore they should hopefully be safe.

It was all cut and dry but the risks were real and anything could go wrong if any form of the plan was deviated from.

General Diane Beckman read the last page of the report again before closing it and sat back in her huge chair. Slowly removing her glasses from her face she stared ahead at Col. John Casey as he sat ramrod straight in the chair in front of her desk. She scrutinized him, analyzing his every move, his every tick. But like a true soldier with years of training and even more experience, he had none. He was perfect stone and if it weren't for the occasional blink she was sure people could be convinced that he was just a life like statue.

"So this is all over now." She said simply, laying her glasses on top of the report. It was the only copy, and would remain so.

"Yes General. I saw the both of them with my own eyes. All tests confirmed that it was Bartowski and Walker." Casey confirmed.

"I must admit I didn't see this coming. I would never believe that Walker would kill Bartowski. A murder suicide, it's almost poetic in its ending.

"Walker would never allow Bartowski to be taken again General. I've seen the videos and I've read the reports. I believe Walker would feel death would be a better outcome for him than to have him be recaptured." He stated firmly, not leaving any room for doubt.

Sighing the little woman sat up and leaned over her desk, hands clamped together tightly over the report. She was weary and she was tired. Not just physically but in every way possible. She was not blind to what she has to do, what she has done in her life time, in her position. The proof obvious in front of her in the form of a report of the death of Chuck Bartowski.

She had liked Chuck, though she was very strict with him, very short. She had to be, it was her job to get the most out of him. But she wasn't blind to his charm, to his passion. She was well aware of the good that was inside of him and the sacrifices he made. When Sarah Walker had fallen in love with him, she knew she should have done something but she couldn't really bring herself to. She herself, a woman had fallen in love once or twice with assets or co-workers, but her job had always come first for her. She had never felt the need to reassign Walker as long as the team kept producing the high results that they did.

Beckman had seen it in Walkers eyes, that it wouldn't be the same for her. Sarah had fallen in love with Chuck and Beckman knew that Sarah would do anything for Chuck, including leaving the agency. It was a comforting thought for her for a while, knowing that if the time came for the Intersect to be retired and the project ended, than perhaps she could have convinced the higher ups to allow Sarah to be his handler permanently and allow them to live their lives.

That however never came into fruition and Bartowski had been taken into custody, against Beckman's objections.

From then on she had watched over the project, and watched over Sarah for the year. Though she was the head of the project Beckman had no power in the treatment of Chuck. She was horrified when finding what had been done to him, what was being ordered to be done to him and had appealed on many a time for more humane treatment of their precious Intersect.

Unfortunately the government didn't see him as a long term commodity and wanted to get as much use out of him as possible. It was then she started to put some plans into action, starting with Bryce Larkin. She knew that Bryce owed it to Chuck and he blamed himself for everything that had happened to the guy. She started leaking information out, very tiny amounts but just enough that it would capture the right persons attention, and from there she tracked Bryce Larkin's every move.

She knew he visited Sarah in Columbia, and that he left her information packets in her apartment. She knew that they were working with someone else, someone with great computer skills but she couldn't figure out whom until Ellie and Devon Woodcomb left for Africa only to end up dead. That was when she figured out that Orion had somehow escaped and was out there looking for his son.

Seeing Sarah Walker at her hearing with the CIA Director was hard on her. Beckman wanted to tell Sarah everything she could so she could go and rescue Bartowski, but she had been able to stop herself. But Beckman hoped that she had given Sarah enough of a push to the urgency that was finding Chuck, for just that day Beckman had gotten a report of an attempted suicide attempt by Bartowski.

After that day Beckman had taken a more direct approach to assisting, leaving clues a little more obvious but still hidden and luckily they took the bait and went after him.

The morning she got the call that the secret facility was broken into and their resident who wasn't technically there was missing was a good day for Beckman. She showed face and reprimanded all those involved for failing to protect the nation's greatest intelligence asset. She attended meeting after meeting, putting together searches and task forces until finally Col. Casey contacted her a few weeks later and she put her last plan into action.

She knew, as she was sure the others knew that the government would spend countless resources trying to capture Bartowski back. They would never leave him alone, and he would live in constant fear of being recaptured. Unless he was dead.

She put together a team of analysts to locate the most probably locations of where Sarah and Chuck could be hiding and list them according to probability. The second highest was probably dead on based off her own intelligence so she steered them as far away as possible, giving Casey the task of terminating his friends, though she knew he would not do it.

She sat back and waited until the previous day when she had gotten a text from Casey on a secure line with only two words: It's Done.

She felt relief then. Relief it was all over and that finally Chuck and Sarah could have the life they dreamed off, within the confines of their new limitations. But most of all, she just hoped that Chuck Bartowski would be ok, because the world needed more of him around and it broke what was left of her heart to think of the possibility that he would be too far damaged.

"Now that this is all over, Col. Casey, I have one last task for you before we can fully close this matter." She started. "We've been ordered to destroy all evidence of the Intersect project. You are to locate every report, every file, every device, everything that had anything to do with the Intersect and you are to destroy it. Starting with a secret room at a facility in Virginia where it had been kept for the past year. Little to no trace can be left of the past four years."

Casey grunted his understanding, taking the final report that she held in her hands. Standing up, at full attention, he looked down upon the tiny woman, causing her to have to lean back slightly in her chair to see him.

"I would like to offer my resignation at this time General, once this task is done, I would like to retire." He told her.

Beckman nodded her head in understanding. She herself was set to retire within the next year. She had had enough of all this, of destroying innocent lives. "Are you sure that is what you want Col?" She asked, knowing his answer. Casey nodded.

"This last assignment, this current one, has left a bitter taste on me. Somehow, those two had wormed their way to me and seeing them destroyed…I believe I've finally hit that 'burn out' level." He admitted, and Beckman could see that he hated to reveal that fact, that it almost pained him to admit that he cared for Bartowski and Walker.

"Yes, Bartowski sure did have a quality about him." She said, standing up and holding her hand out to shake his, staring right into his eyes. "And I'm sure wherever they are now, they are happy, and they are together."

With one last firm shake, Beckman released Casey's hand and sat back down in her chair, dismissing him for probably the last time.

"So Beckman knew? This whole time? Even now she knows where we are at?" Chuck asked Sarah alarmed as they cuddled in bed.

"Calm down Chuck. If what Casey says is true I don't think we have anything to really worry about. I think she's on our side. Regardless your father has been working on another safe house, or safe neighborhood for the past year or so and believes we should probably go there soon just in case." Sarah said soothingly as she drew invisible patterns on his chest.

They had arrived home the day before and had gotten word from Casey that morning about the destruction of all evidence of the Intersect. They were free to live their lives now but first they had to recover from the past few days. It was tiring and a lot of work Sarah felt, and if she felt that way she can only imagine what Chuck was feeling. He had slept for almost a full day afterwards and had barely eaten. Ellie said to not worry, he just needed to adjust again.

"So now that we're free, and we're apparently moving sometime in the near future, I guess it's time to talk about getting married then." Chuck said, causing Sarah's heart to flutter.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about. I'm sure the weddings already planned out by now. Ellie is scary efficient."

"She's always been that way." Chuck said, she felt him nod his head. "She had to be to juggle the family responsibilities along with her school work and taking care of me. She's my real life superhero."

Sarah sighed and closed her eyes, completely relaxed. Now was the time for it as their worries have all but disappeared. They still had a lot of work to do, moving and such and they still weren't sure of the long term affects the past year as well as the Intersect have had on Chuck. Ellie had expressed her concern about it still being in his head and was urging her father to come up with a way to remove it. Sarah could see her point, but at the same time it would be useful to have if only to identify people when needed. But they were all together, they were all happy and they were all going to live their lives.

With a few changes such as Jill, who was leaving the next day much to Sarah's relief. She was afraid they'd be stuck with her for the rest of their lives but Orion had set her up with some funds and access to a few safe places out of the country and she was to be on her way soon. She was secure in Chuck's feelings for her, especially now since he wanted to marry her but she didn't like having Jill around. The other woman was unpredictable and had a history of doing the wrong thing, especially when Chuck was involved. Sarah would feel better once Jill was out of their lives for good.

Bryce wasn't returning but she had a feeling they hadn't heard the last of him quite yet. She hoped it wasn't any time soon though, but he and Chuck had a lot of unresolved issues and knowing Chuck, he'd want to work them out eventually with his former friend.

The good news was, Casey was going to join them. That had surprised her, and yet it didn't at the same time. He was career military, a cold blooded killer, but apparently the whole ordeal with Chuck had worn him down and worn him out and he was ready to leave it all. He had told the General, that he wanted to just disappear from the face of the planet and live out his remaining days in peace. Sarah couldn't begrudge him that. He had given a lot for his country and he deserved a quiet end if that's what he wanted. Though wanting it with the Bartowski's was not something she could have seen coming.

"You're thinking too loud." Chuck joked and Sarah opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"I can't help it, you've seemed to rub off on me." She told him playfully, leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips.

"Well, now we have the rest of our lives to exchange bad habits. It's going to be a wild ride. Are you ready for it Sarah Walker?" He asked her.

Sarah nodded her head and placed it back on his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "As long as you're here, I'm ready for anything." She said softly.

The End.

 **A/N: Well that's it for this story. But I want you to know I've decided to stay. Seeing your support on my little rant (Sorry about that BTW) made me feel again that I'm not alone and that there are others like me. Its something I've struggled with my whole life, being the odd man out.**

 **Anyways the good news is I'm staying. I've decided however that I'll spend some time kinda rewriting my fics. I've read some of them and I feel that I've grown as a writer and that I can tell the stories better. Plus they were PC (pre-charahkids) so they need desperate betaing. So look forward for that.**

 **I am also working on building a site for moi, profiling my works in writing, graphics, blogging and just general me. That'll be up and running mostly by January.**

 **How to keep track of me? You can**

 **Twitter: MissMonk928**

 **FB: Search: MissMonk928 You'll need to request to be my friend to see my posts.**

 **email: MissMonk928 Gmail**

(see a pattern)

 **phnxgrl:** I thought it was a good deal hehe.

 **zanex9:** No wedding scene...yet... but there's always the possibility of a sequel or a rewrite.

 **Nomadic Nerd:** thanks! I don't really feel the details of certain things are needed to move a story along. Plus I do most of my writing at work and the last thing I need is a reprimand for writing smut on the clock. And thanks for the encouragement. It is a guilty pleasure that I've never told anyone about. But I can't help it, there's just something about it that's exciting and strangely original. The characters are premade yes but the stories that we weave are our creations and sometimes its a beautiful thing.

If you want to get into another fandom with some amazing fanfic, Harry Potter's writers I've found are some of the most creative people I've ever read. I have thousands, have read thousands of fanfics in that fandom and they are the most passionate and talented. Plus the author fully supports it.

 **Wade1978:** Don't worry about it. Its hard keeping up with fics sometimes. And I'd rather you work on your fic anyways since I've been waiting for it to be finished so I can read it! (I only read finished fics...too much stress) And thank you for your comments. I DO love fanfic. Since 1999. And you're right, I should just do what I want. I can be what I want and do what I want as long as I love it.

 **atcDav:** Ellie is awesome. I adore her. And thanks for your perspective. I never thought of it that way and it makes total sense. Becareful with history though, I once read a quote that said "All history is fiction." nd it changed the way I viewed and read it. And of course then I spent forever reading on a subject but that is neither here nor there.

 **phathead01:** It did and I so adore you! You are by far one of my fave reviewers and I loves you to pieces and beyond, you don't go away from me you hear? *Grabs  & holds on*

 **Garnetflint (Guest):** The fact you wrote that on your phone means a lot to me...cause...I'm a texting whore but I can't type long stuff. Thank you for your view, you're right. I just need to get over the fear of it not being accepted in my real life and get over it in general. I love fanfic and I want to keep up with it. Lifes to short to do boring stuff. So I should stick with this fun stuff!

 **sevenrez:** Hope the end didn't disappoint you too much. There is always hope for a sequel!

 **supesfan18:** Aww, you're so sweet. It just takes practice!

 **wilf21:** I imagine it would be soon after this chapter. Definitely they would wait for Casey!

 **MrBi11:** Meh, I'm not much of a romantic. I don't like it. I feel I'm a lot like Sarah in that it makes me uncomfortable but unlike Sarah I don't really want it. However unfortunately, Chuck is a romantic so at least I get to practice writing some semblance of it. And thank you for not holding the other fics against me. I was young, and brainwashed.

 **Rob M (Guest):** thank you so much for your words and thanks for reviewing my story through out! i really appreciate it. I'm glad you got suckered into the world of fanfic with Chuck and I hope you stay with your other fandoms as you go along. There are some really amazing fics out there.

 **Guest:** LOL you made me laugh so hard. I love it! I've never been one for the classics either, but reading in two languages? wow. I envy you. Imagine the stuff you can read *drools*

 **Shutupnkissme313:** well...epic fail on me on that...sorry...*awkward laugh*


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